Tread Lightly
by Nuttyginger
Summary: Sequel to ‘To Live Is To Love’. Bella and Edward are living in an apparent blissful existence after finding each other again after 150 years. However, life is not fair in love and war and Bella may have to make the hardest choice of all. HEAVILY REEDITED!
1. Oh Happy Days

**Hello all, I'm back with Tread Lightly. After reviewing feedback from reviews (thank you so much for the reviews btw) I spoke to my beta and we decided on some serious editing that was needed. I was never happy with the first finished article so here is the version i am happy with. It is essentially the same story but a much better read with no plot holes and all the crappy grammer and spelling corrected as this was posted on FF without a beta. **

**Much kudos and mega thanks to Katastorphe, who is an awesome beta and perfect bounce wall.**

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****Tread Lightly**

**I have spread my dreams beneath your feet. Tread lightly as you tread on my dreams – W.B Yeats**

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**Chapter 1 – Oh Happy days**

The forest resounded with the sounds of childish giggling and a deeper, frustrated moan. The birds were silent and no animals stirred. They held their breath as the vampires finished their game of hide and seek.

"Home!" came the victorious cry across the forest.

"Not again, Soph," Edward shouted out in mock anger.

"It's not my fault that you're rubbish at this game."

Edward began to make his way back towards the spot they had called home base. He was silent, his feet making no sound as he stalked forward. Soph was standing between two Aspen poplar trees waiting for him. As he got closer, Edward broke out into a run, catching his charge off guard. He caught her around the waist and tossed her high above his head. Sophia squealed in delight, begging for more as Edward caught her in his arms.

"No more, your mom will dismember me. We'd better get back if you are going to Esme's for movie night."

Movie night was tradition that Esme had thought up after reading a child development magazine. She was determined to be the best Grandmother in the world. Edward had no doubts that his mom would succeed in that quest. The massive Cullen movie database had been expanded to cover every Disney, Pixar, and Dreamworks film ever made. The entire Cullen coven had taken in Sophia as one of their own and spoiled her rotten. Bella had given up trying to subdue them.

Sophia had been shy around the Cullens at first. Bella and Sophia had been on their own for so long it was hard for them both to adjust to the change in family situation, but the feeling of completeness had returned to the Cullen family. Sophia loved her new grandparents and her aunts and uncles. Rosalie and Emmett had become seasoned babysitters and Sophia's favourite Cullens. Rosalie was channeling all her maternal instincts into Sophia, but always very cautious of stepping on Bella's toes. Sophia loved spending time with her Uncle Emmett, learning new pranks or on hunting trips north, much to Bella worry. Her Auntie Alice was fun to be with; they played dress up, did arts and crafts and shopped, Alice successfully converting Sophia's wardrobe into cute girly dresses. Her Uncle Jasper, Alice's husband, was the best storyteller in the world, gory details and all. He told her stories of the newborn armies, the Confederate War and her most favourite story of all, how he found her Auntie Alice.

Despite the Cullens' acceptance and love of Sophia, none of the original Cullen family loved Sophia more than Edward. He had taken on his father duties very seriously and immediately comfortable in the Immortal Childs company. He had been unsure at first how Sophia would take to him being in their lives. The Internet had been full of horror stories of children not taking to their mother's new boyfriends or husband. His fears had been unfounded. From the moment they sat down at the piano together, they had been firm friends. He to her to school, they hunted together, Edward had taught her to read music. He considered her his daughter. Sophia still called him Edward and he was okay with that, Bella was her mom and that was all that mattered to him. The last six months had been the absolute best in Edward's long existence. He had Bella back, she had forgiven him, he had a daughter who he adored; his family was complete again.

Bella was at work at the hospital, so the house was empty when he got home. Sophia ran straight to her room to change, then running straight to the piano room. Edward checked on her as he walked by. She was standing beside the wall with all of Bella's photographs. There were more than a few new ones. There were pictures of Esme, Carlisle, Sophia and Edward standing in front of the Cullen house, wide smiles on their faces, their skin glistening in the late afternoon sunshine on a rare sunny day in Burton. There were sneaky shots of Edward and Sophia sitting at the piano, of Emmett and Sophia playing up in the clearing, the trees looking a little worse for wear from Emmett's bearish antics and the extracurricular activities of Edward and Bella. There were other pictures of the rest of the Cullen family either together, with Bella, Sophia, or both. His favourite one had been blown up and was framed in the middle of the wall. He could remember the day it was taken.

Bella had been back in their lives for about three months and Esme had wanted a family night. Alice and Jasper had just returned from a trip visiting friends of Carlisle's in Ireland, Rosalie and Emmett were coming over from their new house a couple of miles down the road. Edward thought that Esme was suffering from empty nest syndrome. Bella had them all gather on the couch: Esme and Carlisle in the middle, Alice and Jasper on one side, Rosalie and Emmett behind them. Edward sat beside Esme while Bella set the timer and grabbed Sophia to sit down beside Edward before the flash went off. It was a perfect moment. The photo could have appeared so overly staged but Bella's running around had added an edge of comedy and everyone seemed naturally relaxed. Well, as naturally relaxed as vampires ever got.

Sophia was right where he expected to find her. Ballet was her latest obsession.

Edward had discovered that Sophia tended to take one interest and become so obsessed with it until she was bored before moving on to the next. The only interest that seemed to last was her piano lessons, which Edward hoped had more to do with him teaching her, but it was more likely the fact that he kept challenging her. Ballet had now reached the point where Sophia had begged Edward fit a ballet bar to the wall where her sketches were framed. He was reluctant to install a bar in case it caused Bella to fully remember her first run in with death at the hands of a vampire, James, but he just couldn't say no to his baby girl.

He leaned against the doorway and watched as she pirouetted, with grace unbecoming of a six year old, across the floor.

"Hey, Soph, Bella asked me to speak to you about your birthday. She wants to know what you want to do to celebrate?"

"A party, of course." She rolled her eyes.

Edward remembered Bella telling him that Sophia lived for her birthday parties. "I could have guessed that. Would you like to do anything else as well?"

She stopped dancing and walked over to Edward. Her eyes were cast to the ground and Edward knew he was in trouble. "Well, I was wondering if, you know, if I could invite.... my class."

Edward sighed, Bella would not be happy. "I don't think your mom will allow that, Soph."

"But it's been ages since I slipped and I have been an extra good girl recently, no tantrums. Pleeeeeaaaaase?" Edward grimaced, he was a sucker. "It doesn't matter," she muttered in a sad, low voice.

The front door opened and they heard soft footfalls coming towards them. "I'll talk to your mom about it."

"Talk to your mom about what?" Bella asked as she shed her coat on the coat rack outside the piano room.

"We were just talking about Sophia's one hundred and seventh year birthday party."

"Oh, so you decided what you want to do this year?" Bella looked over at her daughter who was dressed in a white tutu.

"We'll talk about it later." Edward muttered, winking at Sophia as he followed Bella into the kitchen. He finally got a smile back out of Sophia.

Edward walked up behind her and snaked his arm around her waist, pulling her close to his solid chest. "How was your day at work?"

"Not so good. Lost one of my patients, Jerry. He had Leukemia." She felt Edward's hands at her shoulders, massaging away her thoughts. It was nice he still had the ability to render her brain completely useless. "I think I will have to think about leaving the hospital soon. They think I am twenty-four already, I may be able to get to twenty-six at a push. Sophia appears to others to be the youngest in her class. I think will have to pull her out soon. It's the first time she has been to school, I am sure she will miss all her friends."

"We've just got here, Bella, we can't lose you again… I can't lose you again," he mumbled into her neck. His face was filled with anguish and turmoil at the thought of having to choose to leave his family to go with Bella or lose Bella when she had to move on.

Bella turned in his arms to face him and placed a comforting hand on his face. "Calm down, we still have a couple of years. I wouldn't leave you, Edward, ever. I don't think there is enough strength in me to do that. We will simply drop out of existence until we do move on to another location." She kissed him gently on the lips. "Now, what did Soph decide she wanted to do for her birthday? A trip to Lapland? Her bedroom redecorated?"

"She wants to have a party."

"That is obvious. What else?"

"She wants to invite her class."

Bella's breath hitched as a painful grimace passed over her features. "Oh, Edward, she knows she can't. I can't risk all those children. She gets so hyped up on her birthday and her control isn't at its strongest when she is excited."

"She hasn't had a slip in thirty-two years, nearly thirty-three, and you will have the entire family there to help. Emmett and I can take her hunting big game to keep her hunger down. You have to trust her, Bella. I know she is essentially a child, but she is a child with eternity in front of her. One day, she will get frustrated with being insulated from humans and dangers, and go off and do it on her own. Wouldn't you rather she had a party where she was protected and we could control the situation?"

"Edward, she is still six in her mind. She still hasn't fully gathered the concept of responsibility and control."

"Bella, leave the psycho jargon out of it for a second and think about it as her mother. She wants a party, probably the last chance at a party she will have before you pull her out of school."

He watched as Bella processed it through her head. She was weighing up the pros, the cons, the risks, and the joy it would give her to throw a proper birthday party for her beautiful daughter. "Okay, ten guests max, she must hunt properly before it and you need to get everyone to agree to help." She saw the victory shine in Edward's eyes. "You do realize she has you twisted around her little finger."

"And I love every minute of it! Sophia," Edward muttered, barely above conversation level. Sophia appeared in the doorframe, still in her white tutu. "Your mom says yes."

Bella had to laugh as the two most precious people in her life high-fived in the kitchen and did their own synchronized victory dance. Sophia leaped into her mother's outstretched arms and buried her face into Bella's neck as she hugged her tightly.

"Thank you, Mommy."

"Sure, Sure. You need to go take off that tutu and pack an overnight bag for movie night."

Bella grinned to herself as she watched Sophia's small tulle clad body ran at full vampire speed toward her bedroom.

Bella felt Edward come back up behind her, slipping his hands around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder. "You do realize that most parents, fathers especially, would run away screaming at the idea of ten six and seven year olds running around the house with a sugar high from cake and soda. You, however, seem to embrace it. You are a strange man sometimes."

Sophia appeared back in the kitchen with a backpack on her shoulders but still wearing the white tutu, a defiant look on her face. Bella held her hands up in defeat; she knew how to pick her battles.

"Okay, the tutu stays. Edward is going to drop you off and we'll see you later tomorrow. Give me a hug." Sophia ran into the waiting arms before diving towards the front door and the car. "So the place to ourselves tonight Mr. Cullen, what did you have in mind?"

"Just you wait and see Ms. Lee." Edward muttered as he planted a kiss on her cheek while reaching for his car keys. "Wait and see."

Bella watched the car pull away down the driveway. Her family was happy, blissful even. She wondered just how long it would last before danger came searching for her again.

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	2. Sacrifices Were Made

**Chapter 2 – Sacrifices Were Made**

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It had been a quiet week in the Lee/Cullen household. Invitations for Sophia's party, loving designed by Esme, had gone out and Bella had increased the guest limit to twenty, much to Sophia's delight. Alice and Sophia had been spending hours holed up in Sophia's room with boards of fabrics and colour charts. Edward had to chuckle at Bella every time she passed by Sophia's room when Alice was in residence. Her face usually pulled itself up into a grimace, mixed with a look of being completely overwhelmed.

Edward carefully picked up some boxes that were left in the library from when he moved in and headed to the attic. Bella had agreed to move into the Cullen house once they pulled Sophia out of school, so he saw no reason to completely unpack. He also didn't want to seem like a passing visitor in Bella's home, so he had unpacked some of his music for Sophia and some of his books, preferring the physical feeling of flipping pages as opposed to the digital copies that were now common place and replacing libraries in the majority of cities. Esme was starting to suffer from her children being absent from the house. Rosalie and Emmett were living a couple of miles away. They had always required a few years living separate from the family and just to be themselves. Edward suspected that Rosalie needed time where she had to think about no body but herself. Emmett claimed it was because Esme was less mad if they wrecked their own home, as opposed to Esme's. Jasper and Alice were planning a three-month trip around Europe, departing in a couple of months, when Bella and Sophia would move into the main house. The attic was relatively empty, apart from a few boxes of Sophia's things and three marked '_Annabella – Italy_'.

Bella had spoken very little of her time with the Volturi and was even more vague when he had asked what had finally made her leave. Even when he asked her about the agreement with Aro to keep Sophia, she was hesitant, only saying that she had Sophia now and that was all that mattered. It bothered Edward that he knew so little of her life before Carlisle had found her in the same hospital where he worked, but the knowledge that it was his own doing that had excluded him from that part of her life kept him from constantly asking Bella about it. He also knew that Bella was a private person to most people, but always open to him. So he suspected that whatever she was keeping hidden would either upset him, or she was afraid he would judge her, which was ridiculous in his eyes. After all the mistakes and errors he had made in his lifetime, there was nothing he would judge Bella on.

Curiosity got the better of him as he pulled forward one of Bella's marked boxes and undid the tape carefully. At the top of the box was a large black cloak that Edward immediately recognized, as he pulled it out and held it in front of him, from a picture that hung in Carlisle's study. He also knew that only the Guard of the Volturi wore them, meaning Bella had once been a part of the guard. The thought filled him with horror. Carlisle's stories of the guard were not pleasant. He had told Edward that they started out as a force of good, ruling with a fair and even hand. But after the fall of the Romanian covens, the Guard had turned ever oppressive and ruthless in their tactics. Under the cloak was a heavy wooden box, medieval in style, with a metal clasp holding it closed and the initials **J.X.B** engraved on to a brass plate on the lid. He pulled it out and sat it on the floor in front of him. It wasn't as heavy as he expected so it must have been half empty or contained only papers. He ran his fingers over the nameplate, wondering who J.X.B could be and why Bella would have a box belonging to them. He knew it wasn't from her human life, as she hadn't mentioned anyone that would match with the same initials. As he peeled back the clasp it revealed a multitude of things in the box, photos, slips of paper, ticket stubs, and what looked like a dried flower. It was a memory box, but who's memories did Bella keep that had names starting with **J.X.B**? He picked up a random photo from the top of the pile. It was of two faces, one upside down up against another that was the right way up. One of the faces belong to Bella and she was smiling widely, her eyes scrunched closed and her teeth gritted together like she was trying to contain a laugh. The other was a man, vampire, most definitely, with crimson eyes. He was handsome in the classic sense with a chiseled jaw and high cheekbones. It wasn't hard to see that even as a human he would have been very attractive. In the photo he was looking across at Bella instead of directly at the camera, his smile was less open but still wide with dimples where is lips rose. He looked at Bella with a look Edward had seen on Jasper's and Emmett's face, and no doubt on his own face as he also looked at Bella. It was utter love and adoration of the person in front of him. This vampire, this man, had loved Bella, or rather Annabella, with a love so powerful he wasn't afraid to let the world know. It struck him painfully to the heart. Who was he? Was he J.X.B? Had Bella, or Annabella, loved another before she came back to him? The question he most resisted, but could not help but think, was had Bella ever looked back at the man in the photo with the same intensity of love as he was showing her? Or was that looked saved solely for him?

"Here you are."

The photos fell out of his hands and into the box before the lid crashed down, taken by surprise with the stealth that Bella had entered the attic area.

"What you doing up here?" Bella walked over to his side. "Oh, I see."

He glanced at Bella in remorse, before looking back at the spilled photos on the floor. "I wasn't snooping, I was just curious. I saw the boxes and wondered why you never talk about Italy."

"I told you, I would talk when I was ready," Bella muttered with slight frustration in her voice. "You saw the photos?"

"Only some of them. I had only just found the box. Whose memory box is it?"

Bella sighed in surrender and sat down beside Edward, their knees touching. "The box belonged to a man called Jarrod Xavier Brooks. He was a member of the Volturi guard when I went to live with them. When I first showed up in Volterra, I didn't know what to expect. Some people had spoke of the Volturi with respect, awe. Some had spoken of them with such disgust that it made me angry and even more determined to meet them. Curiosity is such a human emotion. I was surprised by it, but unable to control it, so I went to investigate and form my own opinions. Aro treated me with respect when we first met, he was very interested in my power of shielding myself from his touch. I guess that should have been my first warning bell, but I had avoided other vampires, aside from my creator, and I wanted to learn more about us as a race. Aro offered to teach me how to use my power, and personally enlighten me about our species' history and culture. It was an amazing offer. I didn't know the depth of my power or how to use it, and Aro was offering his time and knowledge to this strange vegetarian vampire who showed up his doorstep. In return, I agreed to join his guard, in in exchange for his assurances that I could leave when I wanted to." Edward let out a hiss. "It was fine. Jarrod was assigned to me to teach me to fight and along with Jane and Demetri, we expanded my gift. Jane hated me from the beginning, but Demetri, Jarrod and I became firm friends. We spent nearly all of our time together. For the first time in my life, that I could remember, I had friends whom I could depend on and who brought me joy. It was surprisingly easy to overlook the fact that they hunted humans, but I had made my choice in diet, and had no reason to judge them for theirs."

She reached into the box and pulled out the photo that Edward had been looking at and she ran her fingers over it. Edward stiffened beside her, she reached out and rubbed comforting cirles on his hand with her thumb. Her touch seemed to relax him so she continued.

"You have to understand Edward, I didn't know about you. I didn't remember what we had, what we were. I am sure that if I had, my life would have been very different but I can't bring myself to regret not challenging my letter more. Jarrod was into photography, hence all the photos. We were best friends and things did develop between us, I won't lie to you."

"Did you love him?" Edward asked, his voice a painful whisper.

Bella turned and gazed at his face. He had an expression that she had seen before. It was found on the faces of those that the Volturi had sentence to death, just as they disappeared in a tower of flames. He appeared to be in such agony as he waited for her answer. She cupped his face in her palm, her other hand slipped under his in a slight squeeze.

"I loved him." Edward froze. "But it was nothing compared with the love I have for you. Please let me… I wasn't Isabella then, I was Annabella. I know this seems confusing…"

Edward stood up and walked towards the hole in the floor. "I just..." He pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers as he struggle to get a handle on his emotions. "I need some time." With that, he dropped to the landing below she heard the closing of the front door. Edward had left her again.

xxxx

Bella hadn't moved in three hours. She sat on a couch in the living room, frozen with the fear that he had left her and wasn't coming back this time. Her brain was a battleground of thought over reason. Sophia had come home from school on her own, meaning Edward had forgotten to pick her up, and was standing in front of her with an overnight backpack. Her mom was worrying her; Bella hadn't moved since Sophia had come in from school, not even to mutter a hello or ask about her day. She had never seen her mom like

"Mom, are we going to Esme's for movies?" She tugged on her mom's hand and Bella glanced down at her.

"You're home?" Bella muttered in surprise. "Is Edward here?"

Sophia rolled her eyes. "I've been home for two hours. No, I came home on my own. I waited, honestly, but then it started to get dark. Are we going to Esme's for movie night? I think we're watching one called 'The Little Mermaid' tonight."

Bella looked at her daughters concerned face and attempted to pull herself together. "Sorry, yes we can go. You got your things?" Sophia dangled her backpack in front of Bella. "OK, let's go." As she walked out to the car, Bella took some unneeded but calming breaths. If Jasper was in the house, her would pick up on her turmoil, and that would no doubt open a whole can of worms she wasn't ready to explain to the Cullen household.

Esme met them at the doorway, staring at Bella, her eyes heavy with concern. "Sophia, why don't you run upstairs and pick out the first movie for tonight." She watched Bella carefully as she sat on the front doorstep. Esme sat gingerly beside her. "So are you going to tell me what's wrong? Edward has been holed up in Carlisle's study for a hours. I try not to intrude where you two are concerned but if you need an ear, I _am_ here."

"Edward is here?" Bella exclaimed, looking crestfallen when she realised that she wasn't hiding anything from Esme. "We had a fight… well not a fight. It wasmore that I told him a little about my time in Italy and he didn't take it well."

"What happened?" Esme asked, pulling Bella's hands in to her lap.

"Edward found some old photographs, from my time in Italy, in our attic. They were pictures of someone I had met, a male vampire, a man. His name was Jarrod and we grew close when I was studying with Aro and the Guard."

Esme tried to look surprised. She hadn't thought for one moment that Bella had been entirely alone for the 150 years since they had last seen her. "Did you love him Bella?" Esme asked, rubbing circles on her back with her free hand.

"That's what Edward asked me too. Yes, I did love him in a way. It wasn't the same as the love Edward and I have, nowhere near the same. But Jarrod and I were linked, romantically." Bella tried to put this as delicately as she could. "He loved me the way Edward loves me, but I couldn't love Jarrod back the way I should have. Believe me, I tried, and for a while I thought there was something wrong with me. Jarrod had shown me that it was possible for vampires to love, and that when they did it was for life, and with such intensity that one could not survive without the other. There was always something there stopping me, a sense of betrayal, like it wasn't Jarrod that I belonged to. Jarrod knew how I felt, it wasn't as if I lead him on. Now i know why I couldn't love Jarrod like I love Edward, my heart was waiting for him to come back, and wouldn't let anyone else in. Jarrod only got a small part of my heart. I wasn't Isabella, or even Bella then, I was Annabella. If I had known about Edward, what we were, I would never..." She couldn't finish the sentence.

"What happened with Jarrod? Why did it end?"

"Jarrod was part of the Volturi Guard, we worked together on missions and cases. Jarrod taught me to fight, he was my best friend and he fell in love with me. For so long Esme, I had felt nothing. I hadn't grown attached to anyone in that way, the odd human had became a friend, nothing else, and I tried to stay clear of other vampires as they weren't understanding of my diet, but I needed to feel again. Jarrod gave me that. He understood when I told him that I couldn't love him in the same way that he loved me. He gave me time and still loved me... You would have liked him, he took care of me."

"I am grateful to anyone who could look after you when we couldn't. Where is he now?" Esme asked, putting a comforting around her shoulders.

"He died ninety-four years ago. I left the Volturi soon after and set out travelling again." She turned to look at her mother, for all intents and purposes. "I know I should have told him sooner, but Edward needs to realize that I am not entirely the same Isabella he remembers. I lived my life after he left me; I lived it as completely as I knew how."

"I know you did, Bella, you have nothing to be ashamed of. Edward only continued to live day to day because he thought you were living life happily as a human. When he found out you had died, he lived day to day for us after we begged him not to kill himself. He's being living for other people for so long that he hasn't thought about your past. He's spent so long thinking that you were dead."

"I just hope he comes to the same understanding soon. Knowing he is hurting, and that I am the cause, is killing me."

"I do understand." Edward came up behind them. Esme rose, placing a gentle kiss on her son's cheek. He sat down beside Bella, his arm around her waist. "I'm so sorry, I overreacted. The thought of someone else with you, getting to know you, hurts, I won't deny it. It's the male in me. I also realize that you didn't know about me, about us and that you had every right to live your life as you saw fit. I know it was my own fault that I didn't know you for all those years, but I should still be able to control my own actions. I am sorry he died, Bella, you must have been in so much pain. I know how I felt when I thought you were dead."

"Jarrod's death is the reason that I left the Volturi, and I vowed never to grow attached again. Sophia came along and I had to re-evaluate that vow. I become conscious of the fact I could no longer live alone. Sophia softened the blow of not having Jarrod in my life."

"If you left the Volturi, how do you get to keep Sophia? You never explained the details of your deal with Aro."

"The specifics don't really matter." She caught Edwards' frustrated face. "I was close to Aro, his adoptive daughter for all intents and purposes. He took me in, helped me find who I was as Annabella Lee, which is not easy when you start from scratch as an adult. Jarrod and Demetri trained with me to use my gift as a shield, and Aro developed my gift in decisions. No one knows about my telekinesis or just how developed my shield really is. In return, I went on missions for Aro, joined the guard and everything they represent. When Jarrod died, I couldn't bear to be around the Volturi, or even in Volterra anymore. It all reminded me of Jarrod and the guilt that I had at not being able to love him back the way he so deserved. Aro let me go with great reluctance. I was sad at having to leave my family behind. Aro and Demetri continued to keep an eye on me. Demetri was my friend, and he felt what the loss of Jarrod was doing to me. I know you don't like him but he was like a brother to me." Bella paused to recapture the thoughts that were straying to Volterra and put them back in their box at the back of her mind. Now that Jarrod was out in the open, they didn't have any more secrets between them.

"I was in Paris when I found Sophia, she was so alone and so confused. Her awareness and consciousness were amazing, even before I changed her diet. Her maker had been killed and the Volturi was hunting her for extermination. When Demetri caught up with us, he was shocked to find I had broken one of the most sacred laws and had no choice but to take us to Volterra to be judged. Sophia and I were taken back to Volterra and forced to face Aro. He read Sophia, thinking he could not read me, and saw I wasn't her creator just her caregiver. I made a deal with him that I would train and try to control Sophia, keep her from exposing us, in return I would be an on-call guard member. Aro agreed on the condition that Sophia must always be under my control and as soon as Sophia risked exposing our kind she would be destroyed. Jane was delighted, I was no longer the favourite because of Aro's disappointment in me. Demetri rarely speaks to me these days, disgusted that I would ever want to keep an Immortal Child. I will be forever under the Volturi protection, and forever be a part of them. I think it was Aro's plan along when he first discovered my gifts. Despite his disgust at Immortal Children, Aro dotes on Sophia, but I never underestimate him, he will come for her one day. He uses her as a control mechanism for me, knowing I grow weary of his games and acquisitions within the vampire world."

She peeked up at Edward, scared at what she would find on his face. It was blank in utter bewilderment. "So much I could have protected you from if I had only stayed," Edward muttered barely above a whisper. It was entirely his fault. With one careless action he had caused a lifetime worth of pain for Bella.

She put her hand to his cheek as he leaned into it. "We all have our crosses to bear Edward. This is mine, for not being able to love Jarrod and for betraying my brother; for picking Sophia over Demetri."

"Does Sophia know of your sacrifice?"

"How can you call it a sacrifice? I have Sophia; that is worth every submission to Aro. I have no regrets, and he hasn't seen fit to call on me in 30 years. All Sophia knows is that I am her Mommy, and that I sometimes have to go and work for her Uncle Aro, who she doesn't really like that much. I would like it to stay that way, So please, if you tell the others, lets keep it from Sophia." Bella intertwined her hand in Edwards. "Are we okay?"

"We are fine. I hear the Little Mermaid, I know you love that film too."

"The mermaid that fell in love with a human, what's not to love?"

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**Major editing done here? Is it helping? I should be posting twice a week as this is completely redone except for the last two chapters.**

**Please review, they are better than apple green gelato when i am sick...and thats saying something**


	3. Prevention is Better than Cure

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**Chapter 3 – Prevention is Better than Cure**

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Bella let out a small sigh. She was sitting, making paper chains the day before Sophia's 'birthday' party. Bella thanked her lucky stars that she had gotten off easy with the paper chains. Alice had fully taken over the preparations and was having so much fun that Edward had reeled her back to reality a couple of times already. They had agreed to a pirate theme for the party, with all the traditional trimmings that Bella remembered from birthday parties when she was younger. There were balloons going up everywhere, streamers dangled from all available points, and fairy lights lit up outside. Bella didn't want to ask how or where, but Alice had found party hats, goody bags, and a real magician complete with white rabbit. Bella had tried to get Alice to subdue it, even Jasper had backed her, trying not to let Sophia appear well off and different from her classmates. Alice had countered with the fact that children needed a bit of magic and sparkle in such times, allowing them to be children again, even under dark clouds of misfortune. The argument had been lost and Alice had free reign, much to Sophia's delight.

Emmett, Jasper, Edward and Sophia were on a hunting trip just south of the old Canadian border so she had the house to herself until they were due back somewhere around three o'clock in the morning. Alice would be around later in the morning to finish her preparations. It was the first time in a while that Bella's house had been quiet. Since the Cullens had come back into her life, it had been going at full throttle. Edward had moved in and Alice was an almost constant visitor, Jasper joining her more often than not as his guilt melted and he got reacquainted with his sister. It helped her blood was no longer a call to him. Esme helped 'baby-sit' Sophia when she and Edward wanted some time to themselves. Rose and Emmett were now Sophia's official hunting party supervisors on Sophia's insistence that Emmett helped her catch grizzlies. That reminded Bella to talk to Emmett; too many grizzlies were making Sophia grumpy, and Sophia grumpy was not pleasant especially with Edward still adjusting to disciplining her.

A chiming, in the kitchen, drew her out of her mind wanderings. It was the telephone, or what passed for a telephone these days. The 'telephone' was a touch sensitive screen on the wall that almost all the households in the world had. It was almost like video conferencing but less office based, and the screens could be moved throughout the walls of the house. She hoped it wasn't Alice trying to get Bella to agree to let her come around early. Instead, the face in the screen turned her heart colder. She could not answer, he couldn't see her yet. That would only get him to send someone else here and she could not have them here, not in her sanctuary.

"Aro, it has been a long time," Bella muttered with what she hoped was delighted surprise in her voice.

"It _has_been far too long, Annabella. How are you? You appear to be doing very well, you're almost glowing."

"I am well, it is Sophia's birthday tomorrow. You look well, too. Volterra treating you well?"

"Ah, I am beginning to feel my age Annabella. Please give Sophia my best wishes for her birthday. Is she there?"

"No she has gone hunting." She could see what Aro was thinking on his face. "Don't worry, she still hunts only animals. She can be trusted to hunt on her own, plus there is much to organize."

"You usually only throw a small party for her. I did not receive my invite this year. Are your affections for me waning?"

Bella suppressed a moan. "No, not at all. It is Sophia's wish to have her class from school at her party and I thought a contingent of human feeding vampires were not the best guests at a birthday party for humans."

"You are allowing humans to the party! You know I am not usually one to question your judgement, but are you sure this is best?"

"I assure you, Aro, there is no risk or foul to having humans around Sophia. She is in more control than ever. Now what can I do for you? I assume this is not a call about a lack of a birthday party invite."

"We have a problem, and I am afraid it is all hands required for this one." Bella held up the paper chains in her hands. "Of course, you can come after Sophia's party. I will have a plane ready at the airstrip in Burton in three days. Will you be bringing her with you?"

"Around Jane, Demetri and Caius in battle? No, I will leave her with friends from Ireland. Three days should be enough time for them to get here. I will see you soon."

"As always a pleasure, Annabella."

Aro signed off and Bella let out an unneeded breath she was holding. Now, how to tell Edward?

xxxx

Edward looked up at the house in front of him; it felt like home. The tiny hand that was placed in his made it even more so. The hunt with Sophia had been wonderful. She was an agile hunter who could more than hold her own; Bella had trained her well. It was more than that, though. As her watched her hunt, he felt his heart swell with pride. One hundred and fifty years ago this was not how he saw his relationship with Bella turning out. He knew that they would be together forever but he had always assumed they would be married and that he would be the one to change her. Now that he looked back on it, it may not have been what he planned, but being with Bella and having an already grown daughter was way beyond his expectations or dreams. The impact having Bella back had been immeasurable. Esme finally felt her family was complete and Carlisle was glad his son had finally rejoined the land of the responsive, for his own benefit rather than for everyone else. Rosalie was starting to lose some of the sharp edge that kept her on the outskirts of the family. She had realized that being an Auntie was just as good as being a parent. Bella understood that Rosalie needed Sophia, secure in the knowledge that Sophia would always be her daughter. This also meant that Bella and Rosalie were now friends, and the friendship she had chosen to form was something else that Rosalie needed. Emmett, well if Rose was happy, then so was Emmett, he was overjoyed to have someone closer to his mental age in the family. Jasper had struck up the oddest type of friendship with Edward's new daughter. Jasper was very protective of Sophia, always keeping one eye on her. He was always on her side when disagreements popped up and he liked to take her to school when they weren't travelling or hunting. Edward guessed their friendship came from the fact that Jasper was no longer the odd one out. Both Sophia and Jasper had lived on a purely human-based diet for many years before switching over to vegetarianism. They also both shared the struggle to remain in constant control of their hunger. He also knew that Jasper had been feeding Sophia tips during the lead up to her party on how to control her hunger. Jasper and Sophia's friendship had brought Edward closer to Jasper. Bella and Edward had agreed that if anything should happen to them, Jasper and Rosalie would take over as godparents to Sophia.

Edward could hear Bella pacing even before he set foot in the house. A pacing Bella was not good. "Hey, Soph, why don't you go check out the back yard? See if anything else needs adding."

Sophia ran around the side of the house and Edward knocked on the front door to give Bella some warning they were back.

"Hey." Her face confirmed his fears. "What's up?"

"I've had a call, from Aro." She saw Edward screwing his hands into fist. "There is a plane picking me up at 2am, after Sophia's party."

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know. I shouldn't be gone long though."

"I'm coming with you."

She turned to him, horror on her face. "No! I don't want the Volturi anywhere near you or our family. You don't know him like I do; if he knew we were together he would be here with the whole guard. He's always seen Carlisle's family as a threat, it's large and highly gifted. If he knew you had me too he would launch an attack."

"They can't do that, they have to be seen as unbiased. He wouldn't risk a revolt of other vampires."

"He would fabricate some sort of charge. He's changed. Caius is set on domination and Aro will support him, within reason."

"Aro and Carlisle are friends. He thinks of you as an adopted daughter. Surely that must count for something."

"If anything it would make him jealous that I have found a true family. I'll be fine, Aro would never harm me."

Edward could feel himself coming around to Bella's argument. "Fine, but keep your shield down as long as possible so Alice can watch your future."

"Fine. Sophia," Bella called. In a flash the six-year-old was at her side, her mahogany curls bouncing from the motion. "I have to go and see Uncle Aro." She watched her daughter's face fall. "Don't worry, I'm here until after your party, I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Can Edward stay with me? I don't want to be alone," She asked, sucking her top lip under her bottom in a pout.

"Of course I will. I will always be here. You're Mom is just going away for a few days,"Edward added, pulling Sophia into his arms, resting her on his hip.

Bella touched his shoulder. "You don't have to explain it to her. She is used to me going to help Aro, and she knows why I go. I told you; we have no secrets in this family when effects each other."

"I know but it doesn't mean I am okay with you going alone." He turned to face Sophia, who was still staring at him with concern. "Emmett is on his way over to set up the sound system, and Alice is bringing costumes over in an hour or so. Soph, why don't you and I go hang the piñata?"

Bella watched her family go into the back garden and sighed sadly. She hated playing with Edward's thoughts but she knew he would never let her go alone.

xxxx

The birthday party had been a resounding success. Parents had been happy to off-load their children for a couple into the hands of the strikingly beautiful Cullen family. The Cullens had loved the birthday party, a chance for them to regress into an age which none of them had experienced in hundreds of years. It had taken about an hour or so for Bella to relax, but Jasper's machinations- at the insistance of Alice that nothing would go wrong, had ensured both Bella and Sophia were calm and in perfect control of their emotions. There had only been one tense moment when the birthday cake came out and the question for Sophia was to pretend eat, or not to pretend eat. In the end, Edward had taken a bite of the cake and Sophia followed, laughing at the face Edward pulled. It had all been captured on Bella's camcorder, expertly welded by Emmett.

They had managed to keep Bella's trip to Italy from the rest of the family by telling them that they both were taking Sophia to Lapland as a present. Edward and Sophia were in fact heading to Lapland as a bonding trip to hunt Caribou, while Bella was away. They would then return to Burton, sans Bella, with the excuse that Bella took the chance to go to Europe to look and secure a clock in Switzerland that she wanted to buy as a birthday gift for Sophia. They both hated lying to their family, but it was for their own protection. Bella didn't want to hurt Carlisle with the information that his close friend Aro had changed into an Aro that not even Bella recognized most of the time. Bella also didn't want her family to know the full story and shame of what she had resorted to, to keep her daughter. Sophia and Edward had both driven out to Burton's airstrip with her and, as promised, there was a Lear Jet sitting on the tarmac waiting for her. The stairs descended as the car approached the plane; appearing as if it was waiting for her. A steward took her bags from the back of their car, parked back from the entrance to the jet and told her to head for the stairs. Sophia had jumped into her arms for a hug while Edward pulled both of them towards her. It was breaking her heart to leave her family but life was about sacrifices right. She boarded the plane and waved at them from the doorway.

A clearing throat behind her startled her and she turned around. An unneeded breath was sucked in to lungs as she staggered into the plane, away from the retracting stairs.

"Hello, Annabella."

Her voice came weakly to her lips, "Demetri!"

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**Oh no, Demetri is back, why is he there?**

**PLease review, they make me smile and i need all the smiles i can get at the moment.**


	4. Who’s Ya Daddy?

**Chapter 4 – Who's Ya Daddy?

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**

"What...what are you doing here?" Bella asked with a shaky voice, betraying her discomfort.

"Aro sent me to collect you. Thought we could do with a catch up, it's been far too long." He motioned for her to sit in the seat opposite him, a table safely between them.

"It has, but that was never my decision, and you know it." Bella could feel her anger rattle.

Demetri help up a hand wearily, "I didn't come here to argue with you. I have missed my friend."

Bella melted. "I have missed you too. So what is this 'mission' Aro has us on? Where are Caius and Jane? Aro said that all hands were required."

"Let's not talk about work right now. How are you? You look different. Where has my quiet, reserved Annabella gone?"

"Its Bella now, Demetri. Annabella for the most part no longer exists. I am fine. We have just celebrated Sophia's birthday." She watched Demetri grimace with the Immortal Child's name. "She is doing very well, thank you for asking," she muttered, heavy with sarcasm.

The engines on the plane revved and it began to slowly move forward.

"Bella? Does that mean you have finally started to go in search of your past? I thought you were determined to live your human's letter. What happened? You meet someone?"

Bell held her nerve. "No, I went back to Forks, where I was turned, and saw my head stone. I started getting flashbacks of my old life. Curiosity was ultimately my undoing." She lied smoothly; it was after all what she had been practicing for three days. "Why did you automatically assume I was with someone?"

"You have this glow around you." He motioned with his hands. "You used to have something like it when you were with..." He trailed off. "Of course, it seems stronger now."

Bella shifted uncomfortably. Demetri was hitting too close to home. Had he seen Edward embrace her at the airstrip? He couldn't have, he was still on board the plane and they had purposely parked back from the plane. If Demetri knew she was with Edward, he would report in to Aro and the whole ruse to the Cullens would have been for nothing. "What are you now? Marcus?" She seethed, angry at the mere hint of Jarrod's name. "Does it really matter what is causing me to 'glow', my life is no longer the Volturi's concern."

"You made it our concern when you made the pact with Aro. We've been trying to keep tabs on you, **Bella,** but you keep disappearing and I can never pick up Sophia. Does she have a gift similar to yours?"

Bella knew exactly what Demetri was getting at; he was snooping on Aro's behalf. He always was the little lapdog. "I don't know, I don't possess a gift she would block, it is highly unlikely though. Maybe she's protected from being close by me all the time, like Aro was, or maybe you are simply losing your touch."

"I don't think I am losing my touch. Anyway do you realize how different you smell?"

Bella tried desperately to hide the horror from her face. Instead, she managed to slide a look of pure fury across her features. "I live in the forest Demetri, of course I smell different. Maybe if you ventured out from under Aro's thumb once in a while and saw a bit more of the world, you would smell different too. Instead, all I smell on you is death and guilt."

Demetri's face softened into a guilty pose that he had fought for so long. "What happened to us, Annabella? We used to be friends. You used to be my sister. Now we just seem to be at each others throats."

"You entered in to cahoots with Jane and came after me, that is what happened. We were a family, of sorts, but family does not turn on its own." She didn't correct him on her name. Maybe it was better she was still Annabella to the Volturi, it would cause less suspicion.

"I'm sorry about that. You know Jane, her words are poison. I should never...after..." He couldn't finish. Instead, he ran a large pale hand across his face as if he were trying to wipe away the guilt. "Are you happy?"

"Very," Bella answered. Her resolve was softening. The friend she missed so much was in there somewhere, and he seemed at war with himself. She should have understood that Immortal Children never sat well with him. He had seen the horrific damage they inflicted, and had killed too many to ever be accepting of them. It was part of what made him who he was, and she had always said that there was nothing she would change about him. "I know you don't agree, but Sophia is a wonderful child."

"I am sure you are a wonderful mother, as well. Are you still a...vegetarian?" He shuddered at the word.

Bella resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Oh course I am you douche, my eyes are yellow, aren't they. If I had changed my diet they would be like yours. So what about you; have you found anyone yet?"

"Ugh. No, Annie, we are not talking about my love life." She gave him a stare down. "No one for a while, though I have been fooling around with Heidi." He heard the word 'Skank' muttered. "Hey, you may not think much of her but she keeps me entertained. I worry about you, you know, getting lonely."

Bella reached out and grasp her friend's hand. "You know that vampires mate for life? I promise you, I'm not lonely." She managed to reassure him without putting her family in danger. "Plus, Sophia gets very jealous of new people in my life. Change is hard for her." She hadn't lied, Sophia hated new people coming into their lives, but her acceptance of the Cullens, Edward in particular, had been nothing short of miraculous. "So, know anything about what is going down to get me all the way out here?"

"Nope, nothing. Aro will let us know on the way out. I do know we are going New Hong Kong."

"What is about Vampires and Hong Kong?"

"Its an island crammed full of people who ran from China when the water rose. Its like drive through Happy Meals on legs."

"Trust you compare vampire feeding habits to the only fast food chain that survived the second Global Financial Crash. You really never surprise me, Demetri."

Finally, the banter between them was light and friendly again. They talked about where she had been in the 32 years since he had last seen her. He had continued to be at Aro's disposal and he filled her in on the changes in the guard as some had left and new talent had joined. Bella gleaned the information carefully from Demetri and stored it away should she, goodness forbid, ever need to use it.

The plane descended in to Florence; not even the powerful Volturi could risk having a private landing strip in Volterra these days. They were met on the tarmac by a black town car and whisked on a twenty-minute journey to the ancient seat of the Coven of Volturi. Bella mused at the familiar road. Her human memories may have faded, but this was one vampire memory she wished could fade permanently. This road had once held a sense of coming home to Jarrod, but now it held nothing but obligation and dread. The city loomed in front of them, growing out of the surrounding fields like a cancer. By day the city was as beautiful as it was magnificent, gaining beauty from its history since its start as a Neolithic settlement. By night, it was a different place. Humans could feel the danger that lurked in the air, the power that crackled in its wall as if they contained a sleeping giant waiting impatiently to awaken, that could take away the humanity in the snap of its fingers. Bella missed the forest, the simplicity of the clouds and lack of oversized buildings that defined Burton, her home. She shuddered that Volterra had been her home for six years and shuddered at the memories that would no doubt overwhelm her on her arrival at the Volturi house. That was what happened when you ran away from memories, she knew that now.

The car drew along the winding road that followed the city wall until the pulled through a maze of side street, barely able to fit the car they were in. It shortly pulled into an underground garage and Bella stepped out to a recognizable archway that marked the elevator to the main house. The driver followed them into the lift carrying her bags. Vampire. Demetri lead her through the labyrinth of hallways to the area of the house she had stayed in when she lived here. These were the Guards' quarters. They stopped next to what was Demetri's room. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"I didn't think you would want your old room again."

Bella laid a hand on Demetri's arm in thanks. "Thank you for your consideration. I suppose I better make myself known to Aro, Caius and Marcus."

"There is no time. You and I head out as soon as we have hunted."

"You and I? Aro said it was all hands on deck for this one. What's going on?"

Demetri shrugged. "I am following orders, Annie. It's just us that are off to Hong Kong. Now, we need to hunt."

"You hunt? Oh Great Demetri of the Volturi Guard has reduced himself to actually hunting for his supper?"

"Well, in case you haven't noticed Annie, tourists are a little thin on the ground these days, even in somewhere as touristy as Tuscany. We all but Aro, Caius and Marcus hunt our prey these days. Mostly we go a couple of hundred miles or so out of the city. Wouldn't want Volterra to lose its 'safe' reputation, would we?"

"Oh, this I have to see!" Bella laughed in glee, rubbing her hands together. Piece by piece, she could feel their friendship coming back together.

xxxx

"Sophia, get back here right now and get these clothes on!" Edward shouted, exasperated.

Sophia was currently running around the house naked as the day she was originally born. She had thrown a tantrum and regressed to a two-year-old in a refusal to get dressed. It had happened when Edward realized that Sophia's need to hunt had fallen on movie night, and she wasn't happy. She didn't want to hunt, in fact, she would rather do anything than hunt. Her mom wasn't here, so why should she do what anyone told her? It was what she usually did when her mom went away for a few days. The last time she had gone away though, Sophia had hunted all right, she had hunted a couple of hikers that wandered into the woods at the back of the house.

"I'm not wearing that. I want to go to movie night." Sophia was now back in front of him, her tongue out, small hands fisted at her stand and obstinately

stamping one foot to hammer home the point.

"Well, what do you want to wear?" Edward asked, exasperated beyond care. If she wanted to wear the fairy outfit, he wouldn't care as long as it was clothing in some form.

"My birthday suit," she stated bluntly.

"Very funny, Soph. You have to wear clothes if you are going to hunt, or Uncle Emmett and Auntie Rose won't come around."

"Good, I don't want to hunt." Sophia knew she was getting nowhere with Edward, she had the feeling he could reason with her all day.

"Fine, I'm calling your Gran."

Edward sighed as he heard her bedroom door slam, shaking the pictures on the wall. No doubt they would need re-hanging today. He pushed a button on the blue strip that went around the wall. A screen popped up and he said 'Esme' to it. A moment later his mother's face filled the screen.

"Hello, Edward, I thought you would be hunting with Sophia and Emmett by now."

"I would be, but she won't get dressed. She never acts like this when Bella is around."

"She's just being a child, pushing the boundaries with you, seeing how far she can push you before you crack. You have to be strong, show no weakness or you lose the game and she will make your life hell."

"Esme, you make her sound like some crack MI5 agent. She is a six year old vampire who is throwing a temper tantrum."

"Same difference. Try putting her on the naughty step." She noticed Edward's overly confused face. "Pick her up, no clothes on, and put her on the third stair of the staircase and tell her she has to stay there for seven minutes and think about her actions. If she gets up, pick her up again and put her back on the step explaining that she has to start the punishment again and stay on the step. If she keeps getting up, just put her back on it without saying anything, she'll get the hint. After the seven minutes is up she has to say what she did wrong, say sorry, give you a cuddle and get dressed. If she throws a wobbly again, start again."

"How the hell do you know this stuff?"

"Super Nanny DVD reruns and child development magazines. Children need to be taught. Sophia may be over 100 years old but this is a new experience to her, so she is learning it like a 6 year old."

"I don't know how to do this. I'm going to be a rubbish parent. I know, I know..." He cut Esme off. "Parents learn these things too, but this is different, we were full grown when you had to learn to be a mother to us and it's not like I have been learning since Sophia was born, I got the deep-end at six years old."

"You will be fine, Edward, you are doing a great job. Call me if you have any problems."

"If this works, you get the Gran of the Year award."

Edward hung up and turned to find Sophia staring at him. "Does that mean I get to go to Movie Night?"

Edward didn't talk instead he moved towards Sophia, catching her off guard, and scooped her up in arms and planted her on a step on the staircase. "Sophia, you have been a bad girl and you have to sit on this step for seven minutes." He pointed to the grandfather clock that was now in the hallway. "And I want you to think about being naughty because you wouldn't get dressed to hunt."

'_This is not good. He's getting...tough_' Sophia thought. '_Time to pull out the big guns._' She put on the biggest eyes she could and looked up through her lashed. "I miss my mommy. I wish she didn't go away."

Edward hesitated and Sophia let slip a smirk. '_The little..._' He stared her down, stern and meaningful. He stepped away and turned for the living room. She was at his side within seconds but Edward was ready, there was no way this would work first time round. He did exactly what Esme told him and placed her back on the step. This continued for at least ten attempts as Edward chased her around the house to catch her. Finally she served a full seven minutes.

"So, do you know what you did wrong?"

Sophia gazed up sheepishly from under her eyelashes and nodded her head. "I didn't get dressed and I was cheeky."

"Good and what do you say?"

"I'm sorry, please don't tell Mommy."

Edward sighed and caved. He pulled her into his lap and cuddled her to him. "It's Okay, Soph, I love you lots."

"I love you too, Daddy."

Edward pushed Sophia away from his so he could see her. "What did you call me?"

"Daddy? Is that okay?" Sophia asked, looking almost scared. "Michael Comer at school told me that you were my daddy at my party. Are you my daddy?" He words were coming out in a rush, but he understood every word.

"I'm your daddy if you want me to be. I'll always be your daddy, if that is truly what you want." Sophia hugged him again tightly. "Now, are you going to get dressed?" She nodded. "Good. After you hunt we will go around to your Gran's and watch some movies, okay?"

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**I love the fact i was able to add 600 words to this chapter and really like it. I still love Sophia and her relationshi with Edward really makes me smile.**

**Please review, they are better than Sophia cuddles, just!**

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	5. What God Gave Us

**Chapter 5 – What God Gave Us

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**

Bella hated flying, well hate was a strong word but she really didn't like it. Her fingers were gripping the seat, her pale skin stretched thin over her knuckles. The seat groaned in protest and she let go. The irrationalism of her fear did not escape her; if the plane were to crash, she would survive, unless there was fire involved. Her fingers tightened again. Even as much as she travelled previous to her settling in Burton, it had been via road trip or simply running, travelling at night. Whatever possessed vampires to fly around in tin tubes when they could run or swim? Bella pictured Edward and Sophia's faces and calm flooded through her venom filled veins.

Demetri and Bella were on their way to New Hong Kong, now located where the city of Shenzhen in China had been. When the sea had risen again as the Antarctic melted further, Shenzhen had been chosen to re-house Hong Kong and its economy. What the climate change models hadn't taken into account was that the area would be completely surrounded water around the mountains. It was now an island that had a very high population density, and an even more pressing vampire problem. So far, the problem had been attributed to a resurgence of the triads in Hong Kong, a renewal in violence as the gangs re-fought for their turf. Old Hong Kong held a multitude of soul-haunting memories for Bella. It was a city that clouded her gift, so many people making so many decisions that the humming rumbled in her head like a thunderstorm, abating and never moving on until she ran from the voices and the heartbeats. The decisions she could now handle but the memories were another matter altogether. It was the city where Jarrod lost his life nearly one hundred years previous. He had died in old Hong Kong and though the streets that they would walk that night would not be the same streets that claimed her best friend so many years ago, the recollections would still be raw. She looked across at Demetri, his face set in concentration. They had few leads to go on here, and they would be very reliant on Demetri once they hit the ground. Bella could not forget that this would be hard for him, as well. They had both lost their best friend that night and it was their first time on a 'mission' together since his death. She reached over and took one of his hands in hers, squeezing it to show she was there with him.

They departed the plane, their blacker than night cloaks drifting less than an inch off the ground. The runway was lit up like a Christmas tree with landing lights but the lights in the terminal were all off. Energy was a source the humans could not afford to squander these days. It made for discrete landing for vampires. Their car whisked them from the airport and into the city. They left the car on the corner of Waterloo and Shanghai Street and started to walk towards Kowloon. Demetri would take a while to retune to the mind of the vampire they were tracking and his scent would be difficult to pick out of the smells that surrounded the New Hong Kong streets: The street merchants, the restaurants and stench of people living in squalor. As they walked down Shanghai Street, they passed concrete, low level housing and the bright neon signs that were still brightly lit despite the late hour. Some things about Hong Kong never changed, no matter where they built it. They walked on through the streets, people crossed the roads to avoid them, and vampires that they weren't hunting scampered into dark shadows. Word had spread that the Volturi was in town. They passed a large mosque as they made their way to the end of Nathan Road. Demetri had finally picked up a scent trail, but it was a few days old and it headed south on to Hong Kong Island, which was no longer and island and instead an inlet of land across a wide river. The two lonely, cloaked figures walked briskly through the tunnel and onto the other side of the river, traffic was very light and the world had grown used to seeing strange figures in these dark days.

"Are we sure he is still here?" Bella asked, her voice barely above a whisper in the quiet din of the night. A whisper was above what they needed to communicate.

Demetri threw her a look as if to say 'Duh!'. "We're almost there. He is in a wide-open space, his scent is undisturbed by trees or buildings. I can smell others, vampire scent is mixed with human. Newborns! Looks like we are in for a fight, I hope you're ready, _Bella_."

"Oh, I will be all over this. I'm always ready, Demetri, you know that."

There was a short, awkward pause before they both easily laughed at the double innuendo. She had missed Demetri and his repartee. They passed under a rusting entrance arch with the lettering 'ZOOLOGICAL AND BOTANICAL GARDENS'.

"Well, it is an open space. Come on, let's track him down."

Bella led the way, her own shield up and one around Demetri. He wouldn't feel it except for a tiny tingle that he would hopefully attribute to getting closer to his target. Demetri did not know about her telekinesis yet and she wasn't planning on showing it to him only for the information to go straight back to Aro. Despite their return to an easy, playful conversation, she knew where Demetri's allegiances ultimately lay.

xxxx

They spotted a lone, dark figure under a palm tree in a small meadow half way into the park. He seemed to be leaning against the tree casually, waiting for them, but Bella could see his muscles under his shirt, tense and ready. One by one, dark figures emerged from out of the tree line. The newborn army they had been expecting. It wasn't big, only four or five in size, but big enough to pose a small challenge to them. Bella crouched low to the ground, her legs coiled and waiting for the pounce, while Demetri crouched slightly higher above her, his more bulky frame making it difficult for him to get as low to the ground.. She had the speed and agility while he would rely on his brute strength and his experience. In the last six months, Emmett had reminded her of Demetri on more than one occasion, especially in the way that he made fun of her Bella-isms and the way he tried to compete against her. It was good to be fighting beside the real thing again.

The newborns burst forward, single minded in their pursuit of ousting the newcomers.

Bella kicked into autopilot. Jarrod, Demetri and she had practiced the moves time and time again that her muscles had remembered. She no longer had to think about what she had to do, it came as natural as breathing once did. Instead, she busied her mind with keeping track of the vampire they had really come to take care of. Bella was not naive; she knew that this mission might end in the death of the vampire they tracked, but she, like Carlisle, had spent enough time being a humanitarian that she did not relish taking another creature's life. The Volturi no longer played by the rules, they enforced the law mainly as they saw fit. Aro acquired gifted vampires to his guard like humans used to collect great works of art or jewellery. If they did not fit with what Aro wanted or were unwilling to comply, he delivered his own brand of justice. Bella took a chance to glance to her left side, Demetri was on the back on the final newborn, his hands wrapped around either side of his cheeks. Bella looked away, not wanting to see the termination of another creature, regardless if he was the enemy, as Demetri snapped his neck and twisted the head right off. She moved swiftly to the right again before grabbing her last newborn around the waist and throwing it to the ground. The female lost her legs first, thrown towards the tree line. Next went her arms, the sound of skin being torn and joints popping out filled the air as muscles protested at been torn apart, along with Demetri's growls. There was going to be a big bonfire tonight.

Finally, Bella managed to rip the female's head from her body, the air exploding with a loud, screeching crack. She threw the offending object hard in the opposite direction. Body parts were crawling all over the grass meadow, it was like a badly shot scene from the old Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Bella and Demetri turned towards the main object of their mission; he was still standing unbothered by the tree line, bored or just plain disinterested.

"Benny, Benny, Benny, you have been a naughty boy." Demetri teased. "Raising newborn armies. You know that has been illegal for more than ten years. Wanna explain yourself?" His voice had taken on a more serious, barely restrained tone. Bella could feel the hairs on the back of her neck standing to attention.

"I've been waiting for you," Ben muttered, his voice filled with malice.

"You knew we were coming!?" Bella exclaimed in surprise.

"You think that I would raise a newborn army and not expect a call from the Volturi?" He sneered. "I have been waiting for you for a long time, Demetri. What I didn't expect was the double whammy of Annabella, as well. This is my lucky day. Two birds with one army." Ben pushed himself off the tree and walked towards them. "Do you know what day it is, Demetri?"

"Monday?" Demetri asked, clearly confused.

"Funny! Think back one hundred years ago today, where were you?"

Demetri appeared to concentrate. "Egypt, on a mission for Aro, to hunt down and try Amun. I was tracking you because you were part of Amun's coven."

"Yes, and you killed Amun, Kia, and who else?"

"No one, I didn't kill anyone that time. I tracked down Amun's coven in Cairo where I left Aro and the Guard to try Amun and Kia. I then tracked you and your mate. I killed no one that night, I promise you that."

"LIAR!" Ben roared. "You killed Tia! I found the pyre. You killed my mate and, by law, I should have had the right to kill you, but Amun made me into an outlaw."

"I do not lie to you, I have no reason." Demetris' voice was verging on uncontrolled hysteria. Being accused of lying was not something Demetri took from anyone. "I did not kill your mate. You lost all right to vengeance when you joined Amun in creating the hybrids."

The Volturi had gone in search of Amun after reports came out of Egypt that he was using unwilling humans to test if he could make a hybrid races. Human enough that they could be fed from and strong enough that they would live for multiple feedings. As long as the venom was removed during feeing. It had sickened Bella to the core. Even Marcus looked shaken, and that was saying something. Once Amun and Kia had been caught, Bella and Demetri were dispatched to find Benjamin and Tia, who had managed to flee in the fray. Bella went after Tia while Demetri tracked Ben. Bens' gift was not something that Bella could protect herself from so Tia was a more viable option. Bella had caught Tia, they fought and Bella had been the victor. When she took Tia back to Aro and his court, he had condemned her to the same fate as Amun and Kia, death. Aro didn't make her tear Tia limb from limb, but he did make her light the fire, even though there were easier ways to kill Tia. She had never felt more revolted as she did when she lit the fire that finally killed her fellow vampire. So much so, Bella couldn't watch the flames lick and blister Tia's skin, the screams of agony still haunting her bad times. Bella ran off to find Demetri as the fire reached its peak.

"Ben, I killed your mate." Bella spoke up. "I caught her and took her back to face the court. She was found guilty of breaking the law and bringing attention to us. She was sentenced to death, and I was the one to carry out the punishment. I am sorry, Ben, but you know the consequences of breaking the law." Her head was bowed as she fought back images of the past.

A guttural roar filled the air as Ben charged Bella, her confession breaking his nonchalant composure. Reflexes kicked in as a Ben came closer and closer. Her muscles coiled, the memories of too many fights and training sessions of before engraved into their very fibres. Nerves were firing rapidly, more than making up for the absence of adrenaline in her non-existent blood stream. Venom pooled in her mouth, a vampires final form of defence, used only if their attacker got too close and could be bitten. It wasn't enough to kill them but the agony of it always made the recoil just enough to attempt escape, though Bella feared that this was one fight that, even if Ben was incapacitated, she would not be walking away until one of them was dead. She waited until he was in range before she pounced. Before she could even take flight, a large, bulky solid shadow flew past her body, in Ben's direction. The solid shadow, features indeterminable, barrelled back in the direction he came, as if he had been attached to a bungy rope or spring that had been overloaded with tension. It flew through the concrete wall of a outbuilding, dust and debris flying in all directions. There was silence punctuated by low groans of unstable architecture, then the sound of crashing rubble filled the night air as the one-story building collapsed. There was no sign of Demetri getting up yet, and Bella was on her own, not a position she enjoyed. A boulder came flying in her direction. It was not big enough to hurt her, but it would knock her off her feet and put her at a disadvantage. She raised her hands up and gritted her teeth. The boulder stopped above her, shakily hovering, waiting for its next order. Bella tossed it to the side and placed her hands on her knees in exhaustion, her unneeded breath coming in short pants. Over 150 years as a vampire and she still couldn't shake the impulse to breathe. Ben stared at her in confusion, obviously not the result he was going for when he picked up the boulder.

"Ben, give in. I really don't want to hurt you." Bella pleaded calmly.

He flew at her and she instinctually reached out and put her hands around his shoulders in a vice-like grip, absorbing his motion and bringing her teeth close to his neck. She could hear the venom flowing through his veins and his muscles flex under her fingers. Being this close to a person's neck should have been erotic but to Bella it was yet another reminder of what she was here to do.

"Kill me, please, just kill me." He pleaded. His body became to shake as tearless sobs wracked his body. "I can't do it on my own and I can't go on. Just kill me, I'm guilty." Ben's voice cracked as he crumbled to the ground, only to have Bella haul him to his feet.

"I'm sorry, Ben, I'm not allowed to kill you. You are to come back to Volturi, Aro's orders." She whispered in his ear, as one hand ran a comforting stroke down his arm. "I wouldn't take another life so lightly."

"I'll run." He threatened, sounding like a child lost.

"No, you won't." Bella muttered in pity, sorrow and guilt at prolonging his suffering flooding her voice. In that instant, she felt a stab of hate for Aro pound through her body. He didn't care about the hurt he caused in building his gifted zoo.

Bella pushed Ben from her grasp and met his anguished filled eyes, holding his head so he wouldn't look away. She lowered her shield as she held her fingers to his temples. It was so hard to keep eye contact with him as she probed into his mind and found his decisions, her touch making the bond that much stronger. She found the decision he had made to kill himself the day after he found Tia's pyre, her necklace the only thing that didn't burn in Bella's fire. He had been trying to provoke the Volturi for so long, and Aro had always let him go. She erased the decision and replaced it with a fuel to live an eternal life. The decision may have been gone, but she could do nothing about the pain that emanated from his broken heart. She broke their gaze and lowered her hands, her job done. Ben wouldn't be running anywhere. Getting him on the plane to Italy had just become that much easier.

"Will you join the Volturi Guard, Ben?"

"Yes."

"Very well, you will come with us to Volterra." Her attention was drawn away from Ben as Demetri stepped out of the concrete building, his black cloak coated in grey dust. He appeared to be unhurt apart, from a shaking of his head as if to rearrange his thoughts. She knew that he would be pissed that his vintage Tom Ford suit was ruined in the collapse. Demetri looked at her and nodded his head towards Ben in question. "It's done. He is coming with us back to Volterra." Bella's voice was grave.

Demetri smiled. "You're good, Annie. His fury must have made it difficult; your power is still growing."

"There is nothing good about what I can do. Free will is a gift from God, and not something for me to mess with. I do it to save Sophia, and I will one day go to hell for my deal with Aro. He knows a mother would do anything to protect their daughter."

"I know you hate this, Annie, but you told me Sophia is worth it and more. I believe you."

A phone vibrated in Demetri's pocket. He hid the screen from her. "Go ahead and take the car. I will run back to the plane."

Bella nodded and motioned for Ben to get into the car that had pulled up to the gardens. After its passengers embarked it sped off to the airport leaving a horrified looking Demetri in its spotlights. They were nearing the plane when Bella's own phone went off. It was Aro.

"You have Ben, I assume." His cold, soft voice filled the line, barely above a whisper.

"Of course. We are waiting for Demetri before Ben and I come back to Volterra."

"I have sent Demetri off on another urgent mission, so please head back now. I am sending another plane for him." His tone was firm and commanding. There was a reason that Aro ruled the vampire world. "I can't wait to see you again, my Annabella. We have missed you." His voice changed into a caring tone, almost fatherly, but Bella was wise to know the difference.

Bella resisted the urge to snort and hung up the phone. Ben was seated in a chair furthest away from the front of the plane, where she sat. He was huddled up, his arms clamped around his knees, curled in a fetal-like position. Bella got up to tell the pilots to take off and the plane powered along the runway. Bella missed the pull of gravity that used to pin her back in her seat as a plane roared into take-off. Those were the times she missed being a human. Soon the neon lights of New Hong Kong were far behind them, a mere glint in the distance.

* * *

**Nothing funnier than a vampire scared of flying! Phew that was a bit of a long one for me.**

**So is this editing thing making TL more enjoyable for those revisiting? Newbies...any good?**

**Please leave me a little thought or three...i'm curious!**


	6. A Haunting Past

**Chapter 6 – A Haunting Past

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**

Bella fastened the ornate clasp around her neck and reached for the door handle. Bella and Ben had arrived back at the Volturi stronghold in Volterra and assigned a defeated looking Ben to his rooms. His body was curled in on itself as he continued to be lead to his room, head hung low. Maybe the Volturi would be the best place for him, but somehow Bella wondered if he was truly best off dead. She could barely comprehend the amount of pain he was in, the feeling of losing your mate, permanently, when you had to live on for eternity, no deadline of when the pain ended. When Edward had left her in the woods, before she was turned, she knew he was still alive somewhere, living his life… but Ben knew Tia was gone, he had the proof; her necklace. Bella knew that Tia was gone too, and the guilt of her part in that weighed heavily on her mind. She was beyond desperate to get back to Edward and Sophia, to take comfort in their presence. Edward's proximity alone was enough to calm her and steady her thoughts, The danger was also intensified the longer she spent here, the higher the risk was that Aro would find out about her gift and about reuniting with the Cullens. She pushed the heavy wooden door that lead to the Throne Room, or the Feeding House, as Sophia liked to call it. It was a room sent shivers up her spine and made her skin crawl.

Aro sat in his usual position of the middle throne, Caius and Marcus on either side of him. She had never been in the Feeding Room when there hadn't been all three sitting on the thrones, equals by their own regard. The thrones were extravagant to the point of opulence. The medium backed chairs were of Egyptian origin, Aro had never been forthcoming with an accurate date. Its curved back was wooden and covered in gold leaf hieroglyphics. The base of the thrones appeared to be supported by two sets of three figures, naked from the waist up and clothed in elongated loin cloths. They were crouched on one knee while their arms were raised, supporting the upper part of the chair. The arms were completely gold and joined to the main chair by a wooden panel with blue eagles, winds spread at ninety degrees. Aro's hands were currently grasping the lions' heads that graced the ends of each chair arm. Those closest to Aro knew of his obsession with Osiris, ruler of the underworld and the God associated with death and resurrection. Renata stood directly behind him, as if in protection, though she would be of little use against Bella. Jane sneered at her from Aro's right side, as Alec stood stoically by Jane's side, clasping her hand lightly. Bella, however, knew that there was so much more to that touch than outwardly appeared. Chelsea, Corrine, Felix and Heidi stood at various parts in the room, the inner Guard complete. It appeared that the whole family was here to witness her visit home except for Santiago, who must have been off on business or hunting. It was rare that he was missing from any event in the Throne Room. Bella spat the word in her mind. The Cullen's were family, the Volturi were just plain twisted. Allegiances drawn from a fear of death, in awe of power or just a simple thirst for it was not what made people a family. Aro rose and floated towards her, Renata followed behind him as if attached by some invisible rope.

"Annabella, it is so good to have you home, my daughter." He clasped her hands forcefully in his cold, waxy hands. "Ah, still have your shield I see."

"We both know that our gifts do not come and go, no matter how much of a burden they are to bear." It took all Bella had to keep the sneer from her face. "It is good to see you too, Aro. I thought the mission to New Hong Kong was an all hands on deck requirement. I noted the obvious lack of Volturi Guard."

"Ah, it was but then we got an accurate report of how many newborns were raised, and I decided to let just you and Demetri go. You do enjoy working with him. Now, tell me, how is my little Sophia?"

Bella's skin crawled at Aro's mention of her daughter. "She is fine, she enjoyed her birthday very much and received lots of gifts. I brought you a picture." Bella handed him a picture that Edward had taken of the two of them together.

"I see that you must have had a friend take this. It is a beautiful one of you."

He was fishing and Bella had no qualms about calling him on it. She pulled on the confidence her shield gave her. "No, it was set on a timer. Do you require anything else from me Aro? I would like to back to Sophia, I don't wish to impose on my friends for too long."

"Yes, I imagine it is hard being a single parent. Though I think it would be easier these days."

Bella felt the vibrations of the decision before the notice of it hit her mind. The venom in her veins ran colder and she struggled to keep the composure on her face. Her mind was screaming at her to run, to panic, to do something other than play nice with the vampire that was ripping her life apart as they talked small talk. "It does get easier, the longer the time between slip ups, and she likes Burton, which helps greatly." Her facade was slipping; she could feel it leaching from her body. "Is the jet ready to take me back?"

"It is sitting in Florence refuelled and ready to go. You must come back and visit soon, Annabella."

As she turned to flee the room she caught the snide sneer of Jane's face and knew that the game was up. Her feet moved in a flash as she fled from the rooms, her body taking her on automatic pilot through the warren of corridors while her mind worked at ninety to the dozen, until she came out at the reception desk. Bella wretched the clock from her body as the car came into view, its black back door open, barely visible in the very early morning darkness. She climbed inside and they sped off through the winding streets. She fumbled for her phone in her discarded robes and dialled two on the speed dial. It rang three times before Edward's velvety voice filled the line.

"Edward, I need you to listen very carefully, and not interrupt until I am finished. You have to get Sophia and our family away from Burton. Run as far as you can. Aro knows we are together and the Volturi are coming to destroy us. He has been planning something like this for years, but now he knows we are together he has decided to act. I **will** find you, but you have to go now."

"He won't come after us, Bella, he and Carlisle are good friends and they have no grounds."

"Didn't you get what I said the first time? The Volturi don't need grounds, they rule by their own hand and nobody gets in their way. He will fabricate something, find someone with false evidence, whatever it takes. They are hell bent on domination, and we, as a coven, are far too big of a threat for him to ignore anymore."

"Fine, I will tell Esme to take Sophia and they will all run, I will wait for you to come back here and we will leave together."

"NO!" Bella shouted in exasperation. Sometimes she wished Edward would just listen to her. "Edward, he wants your gift and will do anything to get it. Please, please listen to me. At least grab Sophia and Alice and run south."

"Okay. I will go find Sophia and get Alice and Jasper to run South with her."

"What do you mean you have to find Soph? Where is she?"

"We're hunting in Montana, she's just gone off in search of bigger game." He heard her breath hitch. "Bella, what's going on?"

"Demetri! Demetri is coming for Sophia. I left him in New Hong Kong, Aro had somewhere else for him to go. Now I know." Bella rested her forehead in her hand. "Why didn't I see this sooner? Edward, look for someone's thoughts, a vampire tracking or hunting. Demetri is in Montana."

Edward took the phone away from his ear and searched. "I can feel one nearby but he's too far away and moving away from me. Take down Sophia's shield and I will find her that way."

"I can't." She cried in desperation. "I need to be within a couple of miles of her."

"Well then, Demetri can't track her either."

Aro's plan was clear as day in her head now. "He tracked you from your scent. Your scent is so deeply intertwined with mine and he smelled me on the plane. He's tracking you in the hope of picking up Sophia's scent. My shield only protects from mental gifts, Demetri still has his senses. I'm coming to you, we'll look for her together. Warn everyone to run."

"I have a call on the other line. It's Alice."

"Edward? Edward? The Volturi have Sophia, they're on their way to Burton." Alice shouted down the phone, fear and panic flooding her voice. "They're coming to Burton for the rest of us."

"Get everyone and run, Alice." Edward urged, turning and running in the opposite direction of Burton.

"What about Sophia, we can't leave her."

"Bella and I will find her and come looking for you. I will find you, Alice. I have to go."

Edward turned back to his other line. "That was Alice. They have Sophia." Bella cried out in anguish. "Alice sees the whole Volturi Guard in Burton. Meet me there, and we will face it together, as a family."

xxxx

It was the longest ten hours of either life for Bella, as the plane flew through silent skies, finally they landed at the Burton airstrip. Edward had been waiting at the airstrip for her and they ran through the forests back to Carlisle and Esme's house.

"Why are we heading back to Burton? They should have left by now." Bella muttered in exasperation at Edwards's lack of details. "I swear to all that's holy, if Alice is still packing her wardrobe..."

"Calm down, love. They are waiting for you; your family, our family, is waiting for you."

Bella stopped running, Edward halting thirty feet in front, not expecting her sudden stop. "I told them to go and I meant it Edward. This isn't like when James attacked, I'm not worrying about the wrong people. I know that Carlisle knows Aro as a friend, but he is blinded by not wanting to see the worst in people. Aro is dead serious, and there was no chance I could change his mind, it had been made up long before I got there and it was cemented when he smelled your scent entwined with mine. The entire Guard is coming and the only way they will survive is if they run."

"I know, Bella, they know. They are staying for us. Sophia is their grandchild and niece too. Many years ago I explained to you that we stick together to the end and that doesn't change because you are a vampire now." Edward held her face forcefully in his hands, forcing her to meet his eyes. There she found some form of hope there. Not enough to save them, but hope all the same. "Lets go, Alice is getting inpatient."

They ran up in front of the house. The lights were on, but the windows didn't show the inside, instead they reflected the moonlight on a surface that looked like a flat, etched mirror. Bella remembered the shield on the window from when James had stalked her, Esme had pulled it over to try and reassure Bella. Now they were drawn over to allow them to get themselves together and formulate a plan. The Cullen's were preparing for a battle! As Bella stepped into the entrance hall, she felt herself being swept up into a hug from Esme who whispered comforting words in her ear. Carlisle was off in the kitchen but could be seen hovering in the doorway. His demeanor appearing troubled by his friend's increasingly obvious betrayal. Bella knew that Carlisle always hoped for the best but she also knew Carlisle to be a realist and his family came first, always. Rosalie sat off to one side, her face one of gut-wrenching loss, while Emmett hovered over Rose yet almost giddy with prospect of revenge. Small, green plastic army figurines sat right wy up and upside down on the table showing that Jasper and Emmett had been planning war strategies. Alice sat in Jasper's lap, her eyes glassy and vacant as she tried to track the future but frustration was plain on her face. Bella stepped back from Edward and moved to stand in front of the Cullens, Carlisle sensing the change in his family that came from Bella arrival home.

"I am sorry we lied to you about where I was going but I knew you didn't agree with my arrangement with the Volturi. The bottom line is that Aro has Sophia." She closed her eyes and swallowed the venom that pooled in her mouth. She tried to gain control of herself. Bella was on the knife-edge of hysterics and the edge was getting thinner. "Aro has come for her and you because of has always thought of you, as a coven, as too powerful, and it scares him. Carlisle, you have a knack of attracting gifted vampires and now Edward and I are mates, he is terrified of what you are trying to do. Aro, Marcus and Caius are hell bent on complete domination and the fact you have four gifted vampire and Aro is jealous you have taken his daughter from him. You have to run, there is no other choice, but I can't leave my daughter." She hung her head. "I'm so sorry, I've put you all in so much danger."

Carlisle cleared his throat and took a step closer to his family, a mask of resolve on his face. "Bella, you **are** Edward's mate, Sophia is our granddaughter and niece. We are a family, and if one of us stays, we all stay. It's always been that way and this changes nothing. We have to make Aro see reason. I don't believe my friend is beyond sense and common decency. I don't relish harming another, but I **will **defend my family, we all will!" His fists clenched at his side, showing the good doctor was barely hanging on to his nerves.

Edward moved closer to Bella and put his arms around her waist, pulling her to his chest. He reveled in the warmth of her body as she moulded to him as if she was made to fit his body. "Remember rule number one? If I'm not allowed to leave you, you're not allowed to leave me either. She's my daughter too."

"Thank you." Bella rested her head in the hollow of Edwards's neck. She turned slightly without losing contact with his chest."Alice and Jasper, you have to, you of all of us have to run. Aro will never let you go if he gets you. You won't have a choice to come and go like I did." Bella felt her voice climbing to a hysterical level."I will watch Hell freeze over before I see you and Jasper in the Guard."

"Not a chance, Sis," Jasper mocked with a smile that didn't quiet reach his eyes.

"So we wait for them in the clearing like in Alice's dream. Don't suppose there is any chance of a thunderstorm, I wouldn't mind a game of baseball," Emmett boomed, earning him a smack upside the head from Rose. "What? Nothing like a warm up before a battle."

xxxx

The clearing was eerily quiet. No crows flew overhead to roost in the trees as the sun began to descend from the sky. The birds were silent, even the crickets were still and the wind refused to rustle the blades of grass. It seemed the whole world was holding its breath, waiting for the outcome. If Bella could even bring herself to laugh she would have at the irony that this was what she always imagined the end of the world would feel like.

"How can you be so calm?" Rosalie asked Bella as they walked into the clearing.

"I'm not calm, this is not calm. But if I show it then I will start to fall apart. I cannot under any circumstances let Sophia see me fall apart. That would terrify her even more."

She felt Rose squeeze her hand in a show of strength as they stopped at the east end of the clearing, the forest ahead and behind them while a high rock formation bordered the clearing to the left side and a substantial drop to the right. Bella and Edward headed the blunt v-shape the Cullens formed. Emmett and Jasper flanked them on either side. Alice and Carlisle stood behind Jasper, crouched, ready for a fight. Rose and Esme stood behind Emmett, Rose stepping from foot to foot in anticipation. While she might have appeared to treat Bella with distain to start with, this was family, and when family was involved, Rose was willing to fight to the death for them. Bella and Sophia were family now.

Out of the shadows of the trees they came.

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**Everyone together now..."Ah, crap!!!" seriously, just when they were getting their HEA!**

**Demetri; good guy, bad guy or seriously misleaded guy?**


	7. A Selfless Love

**Chapter 7 – A Sefless Love **

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The Guard emerged from the trees, they moved with such fluidity that their feet appeared as if they may have been floating off the ground, not that they could be seen under the black cloaks that they all wore. When she had first joined the Guard, the black cloaks intimidated her but now she knew them to be a guise, an attempt at elitism in a world where they should have been all equal. Bella knew from her past that the Guard was not as numerous as they once were, when she was part of them, but their gifts more than compensated. The Volturi Guard were a prime example of quality over quantity. She lifted her shield from her and pushed it outwards and low over her family. It would less draining on her mind to keep it whole rather than to give everyone his or her own shields, leaving her mind free to fight when needed. There was no doubt in her mind that this was fast escalating into a fight. Aro had brought a small, uncloaked, audience so that when he took down the Cullen coven, there would no longer be a question of his legitimacy or his dominance.

The Guard stopped, by silent command turned to face the middle and stepped back to create a perfect split down the middle. Down the makeshift aisle walked Aro, Caius and Marcus, the two remaining wives behind them. The atmosphere changed in an instant. The guard stood straighter and still, the audience quietened their hackles and the world stopped. The wives never left the tower in Volterra. Bella peered into the crowd but there was no sign of her little girl. Edward motioned for Bella to step forward with him with his hand. She did so, taking his hand in hers, her shield following but remaining tent-pegged behind Esme.

"Aro, how nice to see you. Tell me what brings you to our quiet part of North-West America?" Edward asked, playing with Aro's guise of friendliness but the look on the elder vampires face was barely veiled in rage. Edward dropped his voice but kept it confident and even. "I see you have brought a court with you, Aro. What crime has been committed?" Bella could feel the rolls of anger and hate emanating from Edward. Hate at Aro's hold over and ties to Bella, anger at the fact that he had betrayed Carlisle's trust, and utter disgust that Aro would go to such lengths as to kidnap an innocent child.

"Edward Cullen, it's been a long time since you and I have met." Aro held out his hand but Edward simply stared pointedly at it. "You know what crime has been committed, you are party to it."

Bella felt the thing thread of patience snap. "I've had enough of this. Aro, where is my daughter, I know you have her." Bella said, her voice an octave higher than normal as her resolve faltered.

Caius motioned a hand behind him. Demetri stepped into the full moon light, the shadows created by the light reflecting a haunted, solemn face. Sophia's hysterical cries could be heard from in amongst the crowd, before she was seen. Edward held Bella back from running to her. Bella's shoes leaving skid marks in the ground as Edward battled to keep her stationary and Bella continued to push. Demetri dragged a kicking and screaming child in front of Aro. Bella's breath hitched, she froze. Sophia looked up from her screaming, her face twisted in agony, her sobs hoarse and broken. Bella could see Sophia's body retching as her body battled with the need to let her agony out with the ability to produce tears. Sophia met her mother's eyes across the field and she stopped dead. There was nothing physical about Sophia that would suggest she was in distress, apart from her face, which was still contorted in to a hideous mess as she tried to vent her anger, confusion and overwhelming frustration, but the tears would not come. Snarls ripped from her family behind Bella and Edward as they made their feelings known at the distress of their cherished niece and grandchild.

"Mommy!" Sophia muttered feebly, her fight failing as the mental exhaustion from her struggles caught up on her. She made an attempt to run towards the Cullens, but Demetri held her firm, the earth kicking up under her feet. Demetri's strength was great and held her in place.

Bella launched herself into a full run between the two camps, Edward grip faltered, only for a second but he used his speed to grab at Bella again and caught her around the waist. He pulled her around to his chest and held her firmly in his arms, her body shaking..

"Let me go, Edward! I need to go to her!" her voice cracked in pain. Bella broke down and fell to her knees, Edward moved with her to the ground, their knees dampening in the grass but neither noticed. She buried her face in his neck. "He has my... he has my baby."

Edward felt her pain, his own heart ripped apart with worry as he battled the need to go to her. He knew if either one of them made a move towards the Volturi, it would be the end. Caius would see it as a hostile move and kill Sophia and whoever stepped forward without a second thought. Edward looked up at the Guard. Demetri still had a firm hold on Sophia but his eyes were studying Bella, concern and confusion clearly etched across his features.

"Daddy, help me. Please." Sophia begged, not understanding why her mommy and daddy weren't coming for her. Every other time she had gotten herself in trouble before, her mommy was right there to catch her. Maybe now that she had daddy, she didn't need Sophia anymore.

Bella felt Edward stiffen in her grasp. She looked up at his angelic face. It was now twisted in to a face similar to what appeared on the faces of victims that Jane tortured.

"We're coming, sweetheart. We are coming!" Edward reached out his hand towards her, as if he could reach her, comfort Sophia with his touch.

Carlisle stepped forward between Edward and the remainder of his family. "Aro, you cannot do this. Sophia has committed no crime, as far as I can see."

"She is an immortal child, Carlisle, her very existence is a crime. However, the charge is not against Sophia, it is against you, Carlisle."

The Cullens snarled again as Carlisle attempted to back them down with his hand. "I assure you my old friend, I have committed no crime."

Marcus and Caius moved forward in line with Aro. "Your family has broken several laws, including violation of the most important of them all. You have a very talented family Carlisle, and I feel this is no accident. I put it to you that you are amassing a coven to attempt a coup against the Volturi." Caius muttered in disgust at Carlisle.

That is absurd, Caius. You are amongst my oldest and dearest friends, you know me better than that. I have a respect of the law that is sacred to me, only second to my choice not to feed on humans."

"Explain your 'family', then." Caius muttered in repugnance.

"I turned Edward only out of need of a companion, nothing more. I did not know of his gift before I turned him. It only became apparent when his blood lust subsided. Alice and Jasper came looking for us; I was not searching for them. Alice had seen us and the lifestyle we could offer and came looking for our coven. We were just as surprised by their appearance as anyone. Aro, read me, you will see the truth." Carlisle held out his hands in submission.

Aro stepped forward, Renata moving with him, and walked towards the Cullens. Carlisle walked out further to stop Aro from getting any closer to his family, Edward and Bella now behind him. Aro reached out, his translucent skin stretching over the bones of his hands, dead veins clearly visible. After several seconds he withdrew his hands and put them back on Carlisle's hands. His face twisted in confusion.

"You have been holding out on me, Annabella. It seems your shield is much more developed than you have let on." His gaze slid from Carlisle to Bella and back to Bella, not a single emotion passed over his face.

"Bella, drop your shield over me." Carlisle muttered, never breaking his eye contact with Aro.

Carlisle gasped as his thoughts flooded into Aro's mind. "It is true; his psychic and empath found him." He paused to think. "I will have to talk with my kin to decide what is best for us all."

He floated back to Marcus and Caius, who seemed on edge like a child waiting for the playground bully. Carlisle walked back and was once again under Bella's shield. Without warning Bella felt a sharp prod at her shield in Edward's direction. It wasn't painful, more like the shocked surprise that came from a prick of a needle or static electricity on a charged door handle. The prod came again. Bella shifted her eyes from Aro's back and his group, to Jane whose face was screwed up in concentration. Bella returned her glare with a firm smirk. She watched as Jane turned to her twin and mutter so closely in his ear. The Cullens braced themselves for Alec's gift, as a white mist drifted towards them. Bella felt it on her shield, but knew she was stronger. She channelled all of her energy into it, as Jane and Alec assaulted her shield without success.

"Aro, call off your guard dogs. They cannot touch me or my family." Bella spoke at normal level but her voice was filled with a dark, final tone, knowing it was enough to get Aro's attention.

Aro spun on his heel as graceful as a ballerina spin and looked at the Cullens gathered. He watched in surprise as Alec's mist drift over the 'bubble' that Bella's shield formed, its white smoke licking at the barrier like a serpents tongue. His face went from confusion to shock to absolute horror in one graceful movement as the realisation of Bella's power dawned on him. His two greatest forms of defence and persuasion were now useless. There was no way that the Cullen coven was leaving the clearing without the Volturi and if they did, it would be as piles of ash. His gaze flickered between Bella and his twin guards while catching Caius, fingertips barely touching as they conducted a silent conversation before turning back to Carlisle.

"Carlisle, I have known you for many decades and I know you would never lie to me. I believe you when you say you are not attempting a coup. You, Esme, Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett and Alice are free to leave." He seemed almost regretful at Alice's name. "Bella and Edward must remain, they face further charges."

"Then we remain Aro, this is my family, Edward, Sophia, and Bella included."

Aro sighed, almost wearily before turning his attention to Bella. "Annabella, or should it be just Bella now? I do not know whether to be angry with you or just disappointed. You used to be as close to me as a daughter, you would never have done this before Jarrod's death."

Bella felt the anger surge through her veins at the mention of the dead vampire's name, a name Aro had no rights to mutter. "Do not bring Jarrod into this! I started to lose respect for you when you started seeing me less as a daughter, and more as yet another vampire in your collection, another weapon to own. Let's face it, Aro, these are not your guard, they are your weapons of mass destruction, tricked into doing your bidding. If it came to a choice between me and an advancement in your dominance, you would not hesitate in ending my life. You've done it before to others in your 'Guard'. Now release our daughter." She muttered in anger grasping Edward's hand in hers, drawing strength from the fact he was still by her side, their whole family was. She noticed Aro's eyes flit to their hands, everything fitting into place, while he tried to keep his thoughts from the mind-reader.

"I cannot do that, Annie…Bella, Sophia is an Immortal Child and is therefore illegal. The law states that she must be destroyed."

"No!" Bella, Rosalie, Alice and Esme cried out in anguish as the men stepped forward as one. "We had a deal, Aro. I would keep Sophia as long as she maintained control and did not expose us. She is in control, we threw her a human party, with humans invited, for heavens sake. You have no reason to take Sophia's life, she's only a child."

Sophia's cries had started again as she realised the situation around her. The look of pure horror on her mommy and daddy's faces had been unsettling to her. She really had not liked how Aro was being mean to her mom and how Caius had been giving her daddy dirty looks. Her mommy had always told her if someone was to grab her, she was to kick them in the shins and run. She had kicked Demetri in the shins and he had sideswiped her in anger when she had expected him to crumple. She could feel her mind going numb. She was going to die, never to see her auntie Rosie or Alice again and her mommy and daddy would be so sad without her. One by one, the vampire child's reactions shut down in self-preservation.

Aro shook his head in mock sympathy. "I am sorry, Annie, I truly am, but I allowed my affections for you make a decision that was not mine to make. The Volturi up hold the law and cannot be biased. I'm sorry, Annie but Sophia must die."

"Please do not do this, Aro. You don't need to do this, Aro. Don't end her life." Bella pleaded, almost on her knees as dry sobs racked her body. She struggled to hold her shield, her mind fluxing between numb, panic and utmost hopelessness, as she crumpled to the ground. Alice and Esme ran to her side and held her in their arms as the boys flanked Edward and Carlisle in a show of unity.

"Aro," Demetri shouted, an almost comatose and mentally exhausted Sophia at his feet. "This is wrong, and you know it is. We made an agreement with Annie and you need to honour it." He stepped forward, pulling the limp child into his arms. "What do we stand for if we pick and choose when to apply the law? I want no part to this." He laid Sophia gently near Marcus' feet and walked away from the clearing.

"I thought your mantra was free will, Annabella." Caius roared. "Yet you would turn Demetri's mind to walk away from the only family he has known for hundreds of years." He was mocked her now in his anger.

"That wasn't my doing, Caius." Bella was feeling more confident now. No Demetri meant her family could run, free from the worry of being hunted like animals. It also meant that Aro was another Guard member down and a little less powerful.

Caius was not finished. "Regardless, you still face charges of having an Immortal Child. The fact that Sophia is here today proves you are guilty."

Edward turned his head back towards Rosalie and Esme. "Good thinking, Rose." He turned back to Caius with a smug smile before flicking his gaze to Aro. "What do you class as a child, Aro? Human culture and law classes anyone under the age of sixteen as a child. Some countries have criminal responsibility at fourteen." He could hear Aro's thoughts as he tried to work out where this was going, his mind running twenty paces a minute. "What age is it, Aro? Surely the laws the Volturi uphold are defined."

"Sixteen, then" Aro answered, unsure of what exactly was going on or why Edward suddenly sounded so smug. "If I remember correctly, Sophia was only six when she was turned." His confidence growing again.

"I do not deny it, Aro." Edward continued. "However, Jane and Alec were only twelve when you turned them. If you bring charges against Bella and sentence Sophia to death, then I insist that charges be brought against you, and Jane and Alec also be condemned and destroyed." The whole guard turned to Aro, Jane and Alec's faces a picture of horror. "After all, Aro, is the basis of justice not based on the mantra that not even the highest power is beyond its wrath?"

Edward's smile signaled their victory as he studied Aro's thoughts and his body relaxed for what felt like the first time in days. "Caius, Demetri is right, we have a deal with Annie, Sophia is hers until she breaks our most sacred law. We are a coven of our word." Aro sighed. Sophia remained on the ground, her heaving body now held in place by Felix, who had pulled her away from the somnolent-like leader. "However, the charges against Edward remain. One hundred and fifty-two years ago you explain the existence of our world to a human called Isabella Swan. Do you deny this?"

Bella turned, shocked that Aro would even pursue this desperate line of charges from so many years ago. "No, it's true but only after she had guessed what we truly were, my family and I."

"It matters not that she guessed about us. The law clearly states that our true nature must remain hidden from the humans. I understand that your _diet_ allows you to get close to humans, to form bonds, but in doing so you exposed the vampire world to her and jeopardized our very survival."

"She is one of us now, Bella never told a soul." Edward pleaded.

"That does not excuse you, I'm afraid it remains that you broke the law and you must be punished accordingly." Aro folded his hands into his long sleeved clock and tried desperately to hide his smug smile. After countless years of being a statue, it was an easy task. "Edward Cullen, your punishment will be you will return with us to Volterra where you will be held for two hundred years. Contact with your family will be severed, all ofyour family."

Bella slipped from Edward's grasp and ran for Aro, her eyes almost glowing red in fury. The Guard moved as one to shield their founding three and Renata moved in front of Aro as he clung to her hand, strengthening her gift. Bella stopped half way, her body shaking in barely contained fury.

She took several unneeded but reassuring breaths to calm the vehemence that hummed through her body. "Your quest for dominance has gone too far, Aro, look at what you have reduced the Volturi to." Her hands swept around in a wide arc to take in the Guard before her. "You prolong the life of ones that suffer the agony of loss and simply want to die, you trap children in their bodies, their minds un-stimulated and twisted to hate. Worse still, you cut the bonds of family with the most terrible of betrayals. This is corruption and bastardisation of the word justice."

"I will not change my mind Annie, and I have a feeling you already know that. Edward comes with us."

"What if..." She hung her head low, her eyes to the ground in a final submission. "What if I came with you, instead? I will serve Edward's two hundred years in the guard; sever all contact with the Cullens, never setting foot outside of Volterra, except under your orders. I will take his punishment on the condition that you will leave the Cullens and Sophia alone, no revenge, and never contact them again."

Edward ran forward but she held him back with a flick of her hand. "NOOOO! Bella, no. I can't do it all again, I can't live without you."

She felt a positive decision click into place in Aro's head. "Alice, Edward, remember what I told you. I would rather die first. Look after each other." She gazed in to Edward's anguished filled eyes. "I am so sorry, Edward."

She turned and stoically walked towards Felix, who stood at Marcus' side.

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**NOOOO! Bella can't be serious can she? What a choice, her one true love or her daughter**?

**So good? not good? plain pants and wasn't worth a rewrite? Little grren button down the bottom there lets me know and makes me clap my handies like a two year old.**


	8. I Know What You Did

**Chapter 8 – I Know What You Did

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Bella looked back, as her family watched after her in torment as she walked passed Edward, placing a last, light hand on his shoulder. The simple touch sparked a different kind of agony, an agony she had felt only once before, in a different life and different body. A funeral matched played in her head as she walked towards the Guard, who still kept strength beside Aro, Caius and Marcus. She wished she could reach out and sooth the twisted pain on her family's faces, but it was best this way, they needed to believe she was gone to them. Instead, she settled for pulling Sophia close to her and she grappled her daughter back from Felix's grasp. The child clung to her, her short fingernails digging into Bella's skin. She didn't mind, it didn't even hurt. Instead it did remind her that she had her daughter back and she could deal with what was to come. The soft whimpers in her ear, begging that her mother never to leave her again.

Sophia had been having a great trip out with Edward. He had let her run fast and far. They had headed south, as she had been hunting the week before with Emmett and Rosalie up north, and wanted a change of scenery. She knew her mom would be gone for a few more days yet. Her mom's trips away were less often these days and she wished she wouldn't go but she was also glad that it meant that she wouldn't be going back to Volterra. Jane was a bully, and Sophia hated the way she looked down on her, condescendingly, whenever she and her mom had left the Feeding Room. Demetri had seemed angry with her at first, and her mom had explained that Demetri was disappointed in her, not Sophia. It was then that Sophia first found out that the big vampires were scared of small vampires like her, which had made them kill the Immortal Children many years ago, and that no one was allowed to make new ones since. Her mommy had also told her that one day Demetri would stop being angry and childish, whereas Jane would always be a spiteful person and it was safer to ignore her. She had been on the receiving end of Jane's gift more than once and Jane scared her. The pain was so bad but Alec was so much worse. They had made her swear never to tell. If she did, Jane said that one day she wouldn't stop with the pain. It would go on and on forever and forever was a long time when you were a vampire.

Now, her mommy was back. While Demetri had held her, Jane had taunted her, saying her mommy was never coming back for her, that she didn't love her anymore. She had Edward now and a new family; that she wouldn't want Sophia to spoil her fun anymore. No matter how much she tried to bite Jane, Demetri had always held her back, she had managed to kick Jane in the shins and there was nothing that Jane could do back. Aro had told Jane that no one was to hurt Sophia, which included making her sore. Sophia didn't believe what Jane was saying, her new daddy had taken her out into the garden the day before. He had explained that he loved her, and that he would never try to take her mommy away. He couldn't imagine life without them **both**. Sophia had waited for Edward to come and get them but he was still standing across the field, and she didn't know why. His face was different and he made motions with his hands as if he was trying to reach out to them but he didn't move, no matter how hard he tried. Then it all began to make sense, her mom was holding him back. Why? She wanted her daddy to come to Volterra too.

Bella tried to watch what Aro was saying to Edward and Carlisle while trying to calm Sophia and watch Marcus. She felt Aro's decision to leave while he was ahead and Bella needed more time. There was nothing else for it. She dropped her shields completely and concentrated in her head.

'_Stall them Edward, I need you to buy me some time. Goad Ben, reason with him to leave. Mention Tia, that should get him to react._'

Edward's face relaxed and he stopped struggling against Bella's restraint as he finally started to understand what was going on. It was like a breath of air ran through him, as he read Bella's thoughts and it all clicked into place.

She reached out to Ben again, finding the decisions she had amended in New Hong Kong and reversed them. She could see the confusion cloud his eyes but then his body came back to live from the down-beaten, zombie mess he had been two seconds earlier. The colour flooded back into his face and a spark returned to behind his eyes. If it wasn't for the palatable grief written across his features, she would have sworn Tia had never died. Aro noticed the change and caught Bella looking at Ben.

"Alec, if you please." Aro murmured.

Bella drew her gaze from Ben but managed to keep her attention on him as the mist intensified again, swirling dauntingly towards her and Sophia. It was too late. As soon as she was finished playing with Ben's decisions, her shields were up again around the Cullens, herself, and Sophia. She could vaguely hear Edward ask Ben who Tia was and why he was in Aro's guard, buying her time, just as she had asked. Bella had to act fast; she had seconds, minute tops. She reached for Marcus hand again, enlisting no reaction from the automaton vampire. She searched his mind, back beyond a time she had ever known or even thought about, their contact intensifying Bella's gift. She gave an internal shout of victory as at last she found had been so deeply buried that she almost missed it.

"So leave, Ben, if that is what you really want, we can help you." She heard Edward reason and out of the corner of her eye she saw Ben move forward. She slung a shield around him and felt her legs start to waver as her energy levels drop. Damn, she would need it all for her next move. Even as a vampire, there was only so much her body could take before it gave out and the mental drain of her gift exaggerated it even further. Her own shield vibrated as she felt Jane and Alec direct an attack at Ben's moving figure but it held steady. Bella would let her own shield go before her family or Ben would lose theirs. Bella knew she was now out of time.

She placed Sophia on the ground and laid a calming hand on her head before moving it to wrap it around Marcus's wrist. She nodded to Edward who stopped fighting her force and stayed where he was. Some energy came back to her but it wasn't enough now that Ben was shielded too, and she didn't have time to wait as he made his way towards the Cullens. Spots danced in her vision as her body tried to force her to stop, she was pushing it too far. Her eyes closed as she focused and her own shield dropped. Decision after decision raced through her mind, like stepping into a wormhole and watching the stars fly by. She tried to pay attention to them all, Marcus had had a long life and with that came too many decisions to count. As the seconds ticked by, Bella gave up trying to watch them all and instead focused in looking for the decision that could end the battle before it had even begun. As she watched the decision was looking for come towards her, she wondered if this was the reason that he was so reluctant to let her go, why such close tabs had been kept on her with the holding of Sophia over her head like a sentence. Finally she pulled the decision in front of her and channelled all the energy that was left. Her mind pulled at Chelsea's bonds that held the decision in place, so long ago engrained that they were second nature to Marcus. She pulled and pulled until finally she felt them pulling a part, like steel cables of a bridge snapping back. It recoiled so hard that her mind struggle to bring itself back into reality and where she was standing. Bella released her hold on Marcus's wrist but kept her fingertips placed lightly on his skin, watching his eyes for any kind of reaction to what she had done. '_Please, let this work_,' was the mantra running through her head. Slowly, his eyes began to blink, like his vision was clearing having been blurred for so long. His eyes flew from side to side as they began to take everything around him in. He was like a newborn coming out of the change, seeing all the details in fine, detailed Technicolor, before the blood lust kicked in and their mind became simply about satisfying the thirst. Marcus looked down at where Bella's fingers rested lightly on the top of his hand and then glanced to her face in confusion. Bella smiled at him in reassurance, before turning her attention to Sophia.

Ben had reached the Cullens and his shining beacon of light from the shield was now under their shield. She recalled his personal one back to her and a body gave a small sigh of relief. Her legs felt like they were going to give out but she knew what she had to do now and the fact that her family were still there waiting for her made her heart sing. The determination fuelled a surge in energy in her along with the realisation she really needed to feed. Bella reached for Sophia's hand, a smile wide on her face, and pulled her daughter to her feet. They began walking towards the Cullen's, back to where they belonged, hands joined between them, swinging lightly, as if the last day had been a bad movie that was left in the theatre.

"Where are you going, Annabella?" Aro muttered, his voice full of amusement though the rage on his face was not hard to imagine.

"Back to my family, Aro, back to my real family." She spared him a backward glance, her eyes steeled in contempt of the man behind her. The expression on his face was priceless; it was a poor attempt at anger but his skin could not stretch so instead it looked like a really bad facelift, tightly pulled over his bones.

"We have an agreement; Edward's punishment for your commitment to the Volturi. You made the deal yourself."

Bella stopped and turned to face the man she had once considered a friend."I am pulling myself from the contract, and if you know what is good for you, you will let me go."

Caius roared to life, beckoning the rest of the Guard to follow him. The Guard hesitated, not venturing further than a step as Bella directed her gaze to them. They looked back at Caius in uncertainty. The playing field was changing in the vampire world and the Guard wanted to see where it ended before they made the decision where their allegiances lay. Vampire self-preservation at its best.

"You dare to disobey the Volturi!?" Caius continued to bellow even though everyone could hear him perfectly well.

"Edward was acquitted of the charges. There was never any chance of a conviction against Carlisle. I have broken my word but nothing more. I warn you, Caius, leave me and the Cullens be. You will pay dearly if you go against me. Ben is coming with us, he is under our protection now."

"So, you break your word, and then steal my guard. Annabella, you play a very dangerous game."

Bella bent down and whispered in her daughter's ear before she motioned for Sophia to keep walking to Edward and, after some hesitation, she went. Bella turned and faced Aro and Caius head on. "Games? You accuse me of games? I did not 'steal' Ben, I gave him back his free will. It was something that I took, and I chose to give it back." Her fists clenched and released dangerously at her sides. "Aro, bringing the entire Guard and coming after the Cullens and I was born out of an inability to lose a game no one else is interested in playing, and a selfish quest for domination which will never be satisfied. For the last time, I warn you to go and never darken our lives again."

"I can't do that, Annie, I am sorry."

Bella let out a sigh and looked at the man she once considered close to a father in the eye. "Aro, you have forced my hand and for that you have no one else to blame but yourself." She muttered wearily. This was no longer a fight but a prolonging bickering match that would end only one way. Aro's face was now one of amusement. Bella turned to glance at Marcus, who was now showing more signs of coming back to life, his body moving and seemed more animated than before. "Marcus, you were once so in love with Aro's sister." A look of hurt flitted across his features at the mention of his past love. "You think Didyme left, but she didn't, she would never have left you, especially after you made plans to leave the Volturi and live the life you wanted. Did you never wonder why Aro did not move heaven and earth to find out where his beloved sister was, or what had happened to her? Why no one was ever brought to justice?"

Aro realised where this was going and abject horror graced his face. "Annabella, No! Caius stop her."

Bella threw her hand up again and stopped Caius in his tracks. He was easier than Edward, as Caius was simply pure muscle and fury where as Edward was fuelled by a love so very deep rooted it would move mountains. "Why did Aro not continue to search for her? Why could Demetri never find any trace of her? The world's greatest track couldn't find Aro's sister, you really believe that? An order must have come from inside the Volturi, from the highest level, for Didyme to _disappear_!"

Bella turned and walked away as the Cullens also made a move to head back to Burton, turning their back on the Volturi Guard for the last time.

"You will regret this, Annabella, mark my words." Aro shouted after her, near hysteria, before turning his attention to Marcus who was trying to process what Bella had told him. "I didn't want to hurt you further, Marcus. That is why after Demetri could not find her, I let it go. I always hoped she would come back to us when she was ready."

"Marcus, did you ever wonder what that Jacobian wooden box is in the Throne Room, the one with the padlock that can't be broken. A ward protects it, and there you will find all the answers." Bella left as she parting shot before disappearing from view in the treeline.

It did not matter if Aro talked himself out of the situation with the murder, Marcus would find out that Didyme was dead, and there was no way for Chelsea to reform the bonds now that Bella had broken them. It was enough to splinter the Volturi and turn the Guard out. Even Chelsea's bonds would not survive the curiosity and the doubt that would result from Aro and Caius performance in the clearing. Aro would not be coming after her for a while, as he fought in vain to put his powerful group back together. Aro was right when he told her that the vampires world was shifting, but somehow she didn't think he would ever have guess the shift would come from within his own Guard.

Sophia was trying to run towards the rest of the family who were walking just ahead of Bella and Edward her hands firmly grasped in her mommy and daddy's as they swung her up between them. Bella kept a firm grasp, not ready to let of her daughter again.

"You ready to go home?" Edward whispered close to her ear.

She smiled, the first time truly since the nightmare with the Volturi Guard had begun "Mmm, home. That sounds like heaven right now. You do realize that we have to move. Demetri may not come after us but I cannot guarantee that Aro won't send someone, or Caius won't come after us himself. He is a useless tracker though."Edward placed a quick kiss to her temple as they continued to swing Sophia in her game.

The Cullens walked out of the clearing and into the main body of the forest, leaving the Guard in complete disarray.

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**Woohoo, go Cullens! You seriously thought Bella would go off with the Volturi? Leave Edward behind?**

**Being told that the longer chapters are awesome, much better so thanks for the PMs. Still love your reviews though**


	9. As It Should Be

**Chapter 9 – As It Should Be

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**

Bella's three-story, colonial style house never looked so good. Everything was as she had left it right down to the gate that was swollen shut from the recent rain. When she had left for Italy, just five days previously, she had never imagined it might have been her last look at the house, leaving her daughter and the love of her life behind. She never imagined that she would be facing the Volturi, not fighting alongside them, no matter how much it irked her to do so. This was all irrelevant because seven months ago, Annabella Lee was happy in the knowledge that her past was just that and she was blissfully ignorant of what had gone before, as Isabella Swan. She had lived as a vampire for one hundred fifty-one years and seven months but she only felt truly alive for the last six months. Motherhood had brought her happiness and a purpose beyond measure, but she had only felt truly complete since Edward and the Cullens walked back into her life. Memories that she had once buried deep within the recesses of her mind were now once again part of her. She watched as Edward and Sophia ran ahead of her, down the front garden path and into the house. Edward was chasing Sophia, she knew them to be equally matched in speed, but it filled her unbeating heart with warmth she did not before possess. Her daughter and her… her what? What was Edward? Boyfriend seemed so trivial and there was no wedding so he wasn't her husband. Back when she was human, they would have called him her life partner but when your life was eternal, did it still count? Her head hurt. She pushed her doubts and questions aside, trying to just enjoy the moment of their homecoming.

Ben had gone to the main Cullen house where Carlisle would help him with options, now that he was free of the Volturi and he knew the truth of what had happened to his mate. She still thought that he was better off dead; sometimes there was nothing that could be done to fix a broken heart except to permanently end the pain. She had briefly felt the pain when her memories of Edward leaving her had come back and she wouldn't wish that on anybody, not even her worst enemy. Carlisle never wanted to harm another creature, dead or undead. He was a man who had spent his whole life healing, to hurt or injure someone or something else was against his very nature. Carlisle was a doctor, above all else, and he knew when to preserve life and when to stop the suffering. Her guilt about what had happened to Ben, the part she played in his misery and the decision she helped him make to fight to live instead of committing to ending his life was diminishing, now that they were helping him. That still didn't help with all the instances where she had played god with vampire and human free will.

Sophia seemed to relax a little more when they entered the house, fleeing straight for her room to check it was as she left it. Bella found her sitting in front of the twenty or so photo albums that lived on her bookcase, one open on her lap. She knew this is where Sophia went when she just wanted to be by herself. Bella turned on the stereo and wireless headphones to whatever was playing last and slipped them over Sophia's ears. A small, sweet smile was her reward. Bella knew that Sophia needed space, time to process what had happened, she would speak when she was ready. Having seventy five years of being a parent had given her time to develop tried and tested skills but there were times when she relied on instinct alone. Bella knew that all she wanted to do was to take some time and space to organise the thousands of thoughts that were buzzing around in her head, so chances were that Sophia would feel the same. Edward had wandered further into the house, towards the kitchen and back garden, but all Bella wanted was a warm shower to loosen the knots in her back and neck, to cleanse the day's horrible events from her mind. The warm water felt like heaven on her skin, the heat causing her marble-like muscles to loosen under her skin giving her a natural massage. She could feel the effects of the shower lessening as the water ran cold so she left the shower, securing a towel around her as she headed for their bedroom, in case Sophia had coming looking for her.. As the en-suite door closed behind her, hands softly pushed her back against the door. Edward's eyes stared back at her, so many emotions running through them she couldn't isolate a single one; anger, worry, love, desperation. Edward's eyes darkened with lust as his face moved towards her. His lips were on hers, kissing a trail down her cheek to the underside of her earlobe, a swift lick from his tongue elicited a moan from Bella, it ran through her body and straight to her core. Edward smiled against her skin and continued his trail down along her jaw line. The shiver that ran up her back was not caused by the cold as her body dried, which allowed her to clear her head and decipher what it what it was he was trying to tell her. 'We're here, we are alive.' Her hands found his shoulders and she gently pushed him back, keeping her hands cupping his shoulders, needing the contact with him as much as he needed from her.

"We can't do this right now, not with Sophia in the house, not after today." Bella's breath came out in large, unneeded pants, her own eyes betraying what she was trying to tell him.

After a brief pause, Edward replaced his lips with his forehead in her neck and let out a sigh. "I know, I'm sorry." He looked embarrassed. Bella's hand moved to his cheek, gently cupping it and running a reassuring thumb in tight circles on its surface. "It's just… I came so close to losing you today. I felt like my life was ending, the pain here," He took her hand from his cheek and put it on his chest. "A chasm opened up so wide, I thought it might swallow me whole. I just need to feel you. I keep thinking that you are going to disappear on me."

Bella caught her gaze as it wandered around her face, almost in disbelief as he relived the day in his head."Edward, I am here. I'm not going anywhere without you."

Bella understood that no matter what they had gone through today, Edward had lived it twice as worse. As much as he tried to block it out, he would hear the thoughts of almost everyone on the battlefield. She had never been more thankful that he couldn't voluntarily read her thoughts. She pulled him over to the bed and they both climbed on. Edward pulled Bella to him, her head resting over his non-existent heartbeat. Their legs intertwined, fingers sort each other out until they had a firm grasp. Bella closed her eyes and concentrated on the lullaby that Edward was softly humming, his voice soothing down to her very soul.

"We will need to go to Carlisle and Esme's soon, discuss our next move." Edward muttered, barely above a whisper of the wind.

"I know love, but later." Bella murmured from her peaceful dose.

Thirty minutes later, they felt the bed dip as Sophia climbed on. Edward untangled their legs but their hands remained interwoven as Sophia laid her head on her mom's stomach and snuggled in. They lay there until the sun fell from the skies and rose again.

xxxx

Sophia appeared to be coping with what had happened in the clearing, she had sat chatting away to Edward about a composition they were working on, as Bella had her shower and changed. Edward had spoken with her and apart from some understandable reassurance that neither Bella nor Edward were going anywhere, and that the Volturi would not be coming back, she seemed back to her happy, time-obsessed self. They headed to the Cullen house, which shone full of welcoming light, the battle shutters withdrawn and the heavy drapes open. Ben could be seen sitting in the living room, staring vacantly at the TV set, which wasn't on. The rest of the family could just been seen sitting in the living room waiting for them. This time it gave the impression of being less like a war council that had gathered, and more like a family discussion. There were no sullen, hard-set faces, instead there were statutes which was a more welcome sight than any. The one place the Cullens could be themselves was at home. There was no guarantee that the discussion would be pleasant, but it was necessary. Sophia had gone to the playroom that Esme had made for her, while the 'adults' talked.

"Ben has made his wishes very clear," Carlisle led the discussion. "He still wishes to give up his life; he said it is nothing without his mate, Tia. Bella, I know you feel responsible for what happened to her, but I need you to think about this objectively. I do not want to kill another vampire, it goes against everything I believe in. Alice, do you see anything?"

"There is nothing, it's just a black haze. He makes no other decision other than to kill himself; he sees nothing ahead of him."

"Edward?"

Edward glanced at the statue on the couch. "He just keeps running through ideas of how to kill himself, most of them he has tried. He did try to go to the Volturi but even though he had broken the law, Aro refused to kill him. I see the scene in his head as he remembers it."

"Jasper, have you tried to...dissuade him?" Carlisle frowned at the measures that they were going to.

"He seems to get less suicidal when I am around, but he fights that very hard." Jasper appeared slightly stressed as he felt Ben's emotions and tried to reflect the opposing emotion back.

"What are we going to do? Chain him to Jasper forever? That isn't fair on either of them, never mind Alice." Rosalie protested.

Carlisle turned away. "Bella, what do you think?"

"Amun's coven was not strongly bonded, as you know yourself, Carlisle, but Ben loved Tia with a power I have only seen in our family. I saw his eyes as he begged me to kill him. I think we should honour his wishes but I will also respect your decision, Carlisle.

"Well it, seems decided." Carlisle's gaze flicked to Edward.

"I agree, cremation seems the better way to do this. Jasper, do you still have a contact at the funeral home?" Jasper nodded. "We are going to need access to an oven and coffin, no questions asked." Jasper stood up from the table and picked up the phone. "Bella, I think it would be best if you explained the situation to Ben, you have a history together that extends beyond us."

Bella silently nodded and moved towards the living room. Ben had taken the plans easily, a vacant smile on his face. They would reinforce the coffin with steel struts so that if he lashed out while it burned then he wouldn't be able to destroy the coffin. They would then take his ashes and Tia's necklace, which he entrusted in Bella's care, into the woods that lead from the back of Bella and Edward's house.

Ben had left to hunt and give them some privacy to discuss their next move; after all, he would not be part of it. He had promised to stay clear of Burton when he was hunting. The Cullens had decided to move to St. Petersburg, Russia. It was cloudy enough and sparsely populated that they could still walk amongst humans and it was close enough to the Romanov coven that the Volturi would think twice about coming after them. Esme agreed to search for houses for them, one for the Cullens as a family, now that Rosalie and Emmett wanted to move back home, and one for Edward, Bella and Sophia until they decided to join the family again. Esme understood that having Sophia changed things for Edward, and two of her most precious children needed time alone to bond as their own family, away from the boisterous antics of their siblings. She was glad they had decided to stay with them, having Bella back in the family had brought them all back to life again, as well as bringing them closer to each other. The change in Edward had brought so much joy to Esme's heart, if it had been beating, it would have burst. Plus, it was two houses to remodel and decorate instead of just one. It would be her first child's room to design and she was really looking forward to it. Bella seemed resigned to being driven from the home she loved, but held on to the one chance that they may be free from the Volturi and come back to Burton one day. It held fond memories for her, and would always be the place that she would call home. The place where Sophia became a child again, where her family had found her again and where love had came back into her life after over one-hundred fifty years of absence.

Just as Edward and Bella turned to leave the family house and return to their own, Edward swung towards the window facing the woods, his lips peeling back over his teeth in a growl, a fury on his face that scared even Bella.

"Demetri is here, in the woods to the south of the house. He wants to talk to you, _**Annie**_**. **He means no harm but he wants to see you, alone._"_

"He won't hurt me, Edward. I am safe." She glanced to Alice for back up and received a solemn nod. Bella laid a calming hand on Edward's shoulder, feeling his body relax immediately under her touch. "I will leave my shield down, Edward; you can read me from there. Sophia is safe with Esme in the nursery." She glanced back at the rest of her family who seemed on a guarded edge, before running out of the door in the direction that she could sense Demetri waiting for her.

xxxx

She found him sitting on a newly fallen tree, the fragrant, green moss had not yet claimed this victim of time and weather in the forest. He had dark shadows under his eyes, the reds of his iris a thread thin line around his huge black pupils. It had been a while since he hunted, she doubted he would have had time between flying to New Hong Kong, going to Montana and the whole business with the Volturi Guard. Bella resisted the urge to run her thumb across the shadows, unsure if it was her place anymore.

"You need to hunt, Demetri. You have gone without blood for too long."

"I hunted before..."

Bella almost recoiled at the pain running through his deep voice. "Oh." She knew that expression on his beautiful face, she seen it many times before when his mask had slipped. "Demetri, you have nothing to be guilty for. You did what you thought you had to do. I can only imagine what Aro and Caius had told you about me and the Cullens."

Demetri hung his head low. "I believed him, Bella." Bella frowned at the pain in his voice. She reached out and placed a reassuring hand on his arm as she moved closer to him. "I thought if I could save you from Aro's wrath, that being with the Cullens would bring, I would be able to start to repair the damage I had cause when... I would never have let them hurt Sophia. Aro didn't want to hurt her."

"He would have though, Demetri. He was hell bent on recruiting me, and parts of my family, for his supposedly lawful army. He would have turned her back over to a human diet, and then let her loose as an excuse to kill her when she finally lost control. He wanted to tear my family apart and teach me a lesson. I felt it. Boğatia, strică pe om, Demetri. It means 'Prosperity, like want, ruins many.' It is true for Aro and Caius."

"We'll chalk it up on the board as yet another thing I have to make up for." He shook his head in self disgust.

"You have nothing to make up for. What is it you think you've done now?" Bella asked, almost scared of the answer.

Bella watched as Demetri gave the impression of battling internally with himself as he tried to put his feelings into words, not a process he was used to, oppressed under the Volturi for too long. "I could have been a better friend; I could have saved Jarrod that night. It may take me thousands of years but I will make that up to you."

Bella sat down bedside Demetri and pulled his clasped hands into her lap. "What happened with Jarrod was nobody's fault. It was a hairy battle, we barely made it out alive, as it was. Jarrod was gift-less and he was too busy worrying about me and how I was holding up. His mind wasn't on the job. You were with me, which is where he wanted you to be. He always knew that no matter what happened, you would protect me. I need you to realize, this isn't your guilt to carry. If anyone should feel the burden it is me." Demetri shook his head. "I left you, Demetri, just when you needed me. I took off and didn't contact you to let you know I was okay, or even to see how you were coping. Jarrod was as close to a best friend as vampires get and I didn't stop to think you were feeling his death too. Not once did I ever blame you for what happened. But in the same respect, not once did I check to see how you were coping either. I was not the only one with a loss to mourn." She squeezed his hands in reassurance. "I feel guilty too, about Jarrod. He loved me so much, but I couldn't love him back. Not in the same way he loved me. I always felt wrong about loving him… that I belonged to someone else. Now, I know that was Edward, and being with him feels so complete." Warm feelings flooded through her as she talked about Edward. "You need to learn to live without the guilt. I think it is past time for us both to let it go."

"I've lived with it for so long, I am not sure I know how to live without it." Demetri looked at his hands that Bella had clasped in hers.

"You learn to live with it by forgiving yourself. Even if you have to forgive yourself for one day at a time. It does get easier, trust me. You teach yourself to live a different way, to accept that there are things you cannot control. Sophia taught me that."

"I know one thing, I am not rejoining the Volturi. I need to be free. You can tell your coven...sorry, your family...that they are safe from me."

She nodded, "What will you do?"

"I have other interests, Annie. My life was not completely the Volturi's. You were right, I need to get out and see the world. I have only seen it as a hunter, a tracker. Maybe it is time to see it as a tourist, or maybe just as a vampire."

Bella smiled sadly to herself. Her old friend was leaving her again. "You know, you are my family too, Demetri. You will have to come and visit from time to time. Get to know Edward and Sophia. We can't stay in Burton though; Aro may come back for us. We are moving to Russia, St. Petersburg. Come and visit me?" He nodded. "I mean it."

xxxx

Bella had left Demetri at the forest line. He hadn't felt comfortable about coming up to the Cullens' house so soon after taking Sophia, but he had promised to visit in Russia, and maybe to get to know the Immortal Child. She had found that Rosalie and Emmett had gone back to their own house to pack and 'celebrate' still being around. Jasper sat amused on the couch in the living room as an overly-excited Alice danced around him, Edward was shooting warning glances in Alice's direction every now and again. That could only mean one thing; Alice's most recent vision was one that Edward didn't want her to know about yet. She let it go, for now, in her happiness, and made her way over to Edward at his piano and curled herself into his lap.

"Everything okay?" he asked in a whisper to her ear.

"Yeah, Demetri has left the guard and will not allow Aro to track us. He has promised to come for a visit when we move. He wants, as well as needs, to get to know Sophia." Bella motioned sceptically at the dancing pixie. "So what's got Alice so unusually hyperactive?" She asked sceptically.

"I'm not telling!" He smiled into her ear, placing a small peak on her lobe. "I want to see how long she can keep it a secret from you." He laughed and wrapped his arms around her tighter. "I give her three hours."

"That's generous!" Bella muttered, a wide smile betraying her happiness that her family was still here and still together.

* * *

**Phew, that was a long chapter for me. Poor Demetri, seriously misguided and now facing life without the Volturi. Some how i think he will be just fine.**

**So were we happy with Ben's decision? What about job suggestions for Demetri? He is currently wandering around my brain idle which is not a great thing...he gets up to all kinds of mischief!!!**


	10. Clicking Into Place

**Chapter 10 – Clicking Into Place

* * *

**

Fingers were intertwined and a thumb rubbed a comforting circle over the others palm as they trode through the forest, their footfalls making no sound as they moved over the fallen foliage. The moon was high and full in the sky as they reached their destination, not that the given light was required. The freshly disturbed ground in front of a large oak tree, dug with their own hands, gave the only hint as to why the two vampires were there at all. Bella crouched close to the ground and gently placed the urn down on the ground, making sure it was steady and would not spill its precious contents. In the ground was a small, wedge shaped headstone with two names, **Ben** and **Tia,** and one date. One date had been put on the headstone at Ben's request, as he had said when Tia died, he stopped living.

The cremation had been a surreal experience for the entire family; watching as the 'dead' climbed into to his own coffin and had been sealed in. Everyone had attended, becoming close to Ben in the week he had spent with them as arrangements were made. Bella knew that the due to their diet and ability to form bonds with other vampires, the Cullen's often felt isolated from others of their kind. Now that Bella was again part of a coven, she identified with that. Understanding was firm in the family's minds, and no one could imagine living without their mate as Ben had done for so long.

Jasper had arranged for the small, discrete headstone to be made, as Carlisle did not feel as if Ben and Tia's passing should go unmarked. The headstone would be overtaken by the forest in a few decades, but those that had helped him and came to know him would always know it was there. Bella had spent time getting to know Ben, not to ease her conscience, because that would never be possible. She _wanted_ to get to know Ben, and it turned out that his views on religion, higher powers and death were interesting to her.

_Bella had initially sat down beside Ben to explain the details of what would happen with the 'funeral,' and how he would have to act while they were there. Yet as she sat and talked to him, she felt the overwhelming need to explain to him her own actions and also Tia's last moments as she was sentenced by the Volturi. Reassurance was given to Ben that she had made sure that Tia had not suffered anymore than was necessary. She had died as quickly and painlessly as the Volturi would allow. They had sat in silence for a while as Ben processed what Bella told him, conflicting emotions on his usually stoic face. _

_After a while, Bella had reached across and taken his hand, squeezing it in encouragement letting him know she was still there. Slowly Ben opened up to Bella, explaining how he had journeyed to Egypt, and there, had found Amum and Kia in Cairo. They had moved to Alexandria, as Amun was attracting far too much attention, and with it, the interest of the Volturi. It had been an instant attraction between Ben and Tia, and they had loved powerfully. Ben pointed out to Bella that he could see the same kind of love between Edward and Bella, yet their bond was stronger than his and Tia's. Tia had made him laugh and suited his usually jovial personality. They had considered leaving Amun more than once, but Tia wanted the family she had lost, and Ben would do anything for her._

_Ben confided in Bella that he and Tia had never talked about the future and what would happen if either of them was to die. They had taken for granted the fact that they were eternal and that life would never end for them as vampires. He had found this with most covens he had come across except for the Cullens. It scared him how close to true humans the Cullens were, and maybe if he had discovered Carlisle hundreds of years previous, he wouldn't have turned out the soulless monster he now was. Bella happily pointed out that it was only thanks to his current situation he had met Tia to begin with, plus she didn't think he was a soulless monster in the first place. They had shared Jasper's story, with his permission, about how years of war had left Jasper, and it was his love of Alice that had changed him into the vegetarian he was today._

_Tia's death had left Ben haunted by the thought of her soul wandering the earth, alone, that monsters like them had nowhere else to go. God would never allow vampires into heaven. Bella had tried to convince him that Tia's soul was not lost and wandering; it was right beside him, waiting for him to join her. Ben was surprised to find that Bella thought that vampires even had souls. _

"_I don't think that a soul has anything to do with religion, evil, or monsters. Every person has a soul. It is what makes us exist. Just because we are vampires does not mean that we do not care, that we are incapable of compassion or even love. You love Tia with your whole being like I love Edward. That is your soul right there."_

"_What would Edward have done today if you had gone back to Volterra with Aro or if Aro had sentenced you to die over your Immortal Child?"_

_  
"Edward has decided he will follow me wherever I go, even if that means ending his own life. Our family has agreed to help him just as they have agreed to help you. Edward waited for me for such a long time, hundreds of years spent alone. He loves with such an intensity that it would be impossible for him to live without whomever he chose to love. Vampires live an eternal life that even the smallest of changes have the most profound effect on them, just as it did with you and Tia. That is why vampires mate for life, why they demand revenge on whomever kills their mate. A creature that loves like that cannot be soulless.'_

"_But you have a child. How could you leave her exposed to this world? It is you that protects her from the Volturi. You say that vampires are affected by change, would she not also be affected?"_

"_Emmett and Rosalie, our brother and sister, would take care of her. Our family will always look after each other. It is a by-product of our diet to form such deep bonds outside of our mate, vampires with a human diet struggle to form a family like ours. Edward and I love Sophia very much, and we would never leave her by choice, but the simple truth of it is, is that our souls cannot live without each other._

Jasper had pulled her aside later that day to say that he had never felt a peaceful vibe from Ben, from the moment he had met him, but after they had talked, he could sense a peace settling into him, and Ben no longer needed Jaspers help to remain in control of himself. His wish to die was still there, but he was finally starting to feel at peace with his actions and Tia's death. Jasper sat with Bella a while longer as they caught up. It had been a while since Bella had the chance to just sit with Jasper. She provided a calm setting for him, her emotions under control and constant. Jasper had always wanted to seek solace in Bella's control while others around him seemed to allow their emotions to run riot around him, never getting a break. The only other person that would fill him with this peace was Alice, her love constant and stable, and he loved her the more for it.

* * *

The burial had been simple, neither Edward or Bella saying more than a simple goodbye before replacing the six feet of earth on top of the oak urn that Ben had picked out for himself. Words weren't really needed. Their very recent friend was gone, but his plight had bonded the family, and upon their return from the funeral home, each couple had paired off, taking time to recommit themselves and give thanks that it was not them that lost a mate.

"So, how do you feel about St. Petersburg?" Edward asked as they leisurely strolled back through the forest to their own house. "I know that you have only moved here and that you love your house."

"A house is only bricks and mortar, Edward." Bella lightly chastised. "It is what you fill it with that makes it a home. St. Petersburg sounds amazing. We stayed in Moscow for a while about forty years ago, so Sophia is fluent in Russian."

Bella closed her eyes and thought back to the wonderful city they had briefly lived in before Sophia had raised the suspicions of the local Orthodox church, and they had left before things got heavy. Bella had fallen in love with the dome-topped buildings, the romantic architecture and the opportunity to walk amongst humans so freely as the cloudy skies and the pale skinned locals offered.

"We are going to have to tell Emmett to lay off the bear hunting with Sophia when we get there though. She is getting too grumpy and forceful after he takes her hunting. She isn't used to so much carnivore blood in her diet " Bella stated, pulling herself closer to Edward's arm, seeking the reassurance from his embrace as he nodded his head in agreement. A quick glance at his face showed peace, and he looked more relaxed than he had been just twenty four hours before.. "How are you feeling about the Volturi? We haven't really talked about it since they left."

"I'm glad they are gone, and from what I could gather," he tapped his temple lightly."I don't think Aro is thinking about coming after us any time soon. He finds us a suddenly formidable force." Edward pulled them slowly into a stop beside an ancient tree. "How did you know about Didyme?"

Bella faced him and looped her arms around his waist, unable to take the lack of contact between them. She had a feeling that the urge to be close wasn't going to disappear anytime soon.

"I heard rumours around the guard about the sudden disappearance of Aro's sister and Marcus's wife. There were stories of how Aro had her sent away to an island so that Marcus would focus more on their plans. That Sulpicia was secretly in love with Marcus and had Didyme removed. It was like the assassination of President Kennedy in the 1960's, conspiracy theories abound. You were around for that right, Kennedy."

Edward caught her sly smile and gently pushed her shoulder in mock anger, chuckling. "Really, Marcus and Didyme were so in love that Marcus was going to give up the Volturi and start again with her. She wanted a life that didn't involve world domination, and I think she could probably see where Aro was going with his overthrowing of the Romanian covens. I wanted to know the real story, so I went digging in Sulpicia's mind and came up blank. She wasn't in love with Marcus after all; that would have been very Dawson's Creek."

She looked up at Edwards blank face. "Human memory, never mind. Something about Didyme's disappearance struck a cord with me, and I was like a dog with a bone. I went after Aro, as he was her brother, and there it was. He had the only person who wanted the overall control of the vampire world as much as he did, Caius, murder her, and then he kept the ashes in the throne room beside him. Aro did love Didyme but he loved his Guard more, and his mind was riddled with domination, like a cancer. You saw what happened to Ben with the loss of Tia, imagine that love built over centuries, all encompassing and so beyond comprehension. Aro could have had Chelsea break the bonds but with the love that Marcus and Didyme shared, they would have just reformed eventually and stronger than ever. The murder of Didyme was the only option left to a desperate man."

"He could have let them, then caught them and killed Didyme within the laws. Why did he have to hide the murder?" Edward quizzed, feeling like he was stuck in a John Sandford novel.

"Ah yes, but the problem is that the Guard is meant to be purely voluntary, and it is for the most part unless you have a gift that Aro wants. So he couldn't get either of them for deserting the Guard. Didyme had the upmost respect for the laws and would never purposely break them and everyone knew that. So he had to go all hush-hush."

"Have I told you lately that you amaze me?" Edward picked her up in his arms and swung her around, her legs whipping through the air, giggles erupting from her wide smile.

"Not nearly enough," She muttered, her smile betraying her before her face dropped into seriousness. She put her hands to his cheeks and stared deep into his ochre eyes . "I need you to know, I would never leave you. We made an agreement and, God, I love you so very much. I never want you to think that I would ever give that up. But I needed you and the rest of the family to firmly believe that I love you enough to walk away, that your lives will always come first for me. If I hadn't had the strength to break the bonds with Marcus, then I would have had to go back to Volterra. Aro would never of allowed me to walk away and live. If that was the case, if I had to return to Volterra, Aro would have read you or Carlisle to check that it wasn't some kind of Trojan horse. I couldn't risk you knowing my real intentions until I was sure it would work."

"I understand, love. I could see it in your eyes that you would never leave me, which was I was so confused, why I fought against you. I will never do it again." Edward took Bella's cheeks in his hands, mirroring her hold on his. "I also know that you would never take Sophia from me, she is my daughter now too."

"I know that, I honestly do. I am just glad that you are not as accepting of me leaving as I was of you all those years ago. I just let my life fall apart, convinced that you had never loved me."

Edward hung his head, her fingers slipping from his skin. "I will never forgive myself for leaving you. Or for what happened to you afterwards. If I hadn't left you wouldn't be..."

Bella harshly pulled at his chin, forcing him to look at her. "Edward Cullen, do not ever take that back. If it weren't for Victoria, I wouldn't have gotten to experience this with you. I wouldn't have Sophia or a family who love me as if I was their own. I know that I have lost out on a few things too, like Charlie, but sometimes the sacrifice is worth it. (For the end justifies the means and that means you! I, Isabella Lee, love you, Edward Cullen, and I am not going anywhere so get used to it and stop haunting yourself with 'what if's'.'"

Bella started to walk away, Edward's hand in hers.

Edward stopped, jolting Bella to stop beside him, pulling her into his arms. He rested his forehead against hers, able to look her in the eye while taking comfort from skin on skin contact. "Marry me?"

Silence reverberated throughout the forest as the words hung in the air. "What?" Bella questioned softly, her eyes only showing confusion and disbelief at his words.

"You shouldn't be a Lee or a Swan, you should be a Cullen. You have always been a Cullen. Sophia belongs to both of us too, and should be a Cullen as well. You are mine for always, and I want the whole world to know it. Marry me?"

"Edward, you knew my feelings on marriage when I was human, that hasn't changed. We don't need marriage to show the world what we mean to each other. The world isn't interested, and our family already knows what we feel. I won't want what happened to Charlie and Renee to happen to us." Bella knew in reality she was saying, 'if you wanted to walk away again, I don't want a piece of paper to hold you back.' Once more she was glad Edward couldn't read her mind.

"I was raised as a traditional boy with traditional values. We have a child, we love each other, and for me that means that marriage naturally flows from it. I want to be able to call you Mrs. Cullen and I want you to know where you and Sophia stand in my life. I mean, what am I to you? I'm not your husband, and I think after everything we have been through, I am far beyond the definition of a boyfriend."He chuckled at the highly inappropriate use of the word 'boy'.

Bella stood back, her mind reeling. She had always thought that all marriage was, was a definition by a piece of paper; that marriage was simply a union, not needed if you were truly together. She had thought that even when Jarrod had asked her to marry him, even though she had explained that she couldn't love him the way he loved her. With Edward, it was different; she loved him so completely she hadn't thought she needed anything else to prove that. Bella hadn't thought that maybe Edward did need that reassurance of their love, her love to him. They had an agreement, an agreement that Bella had made him make,never to leave her. If they were going to be together for eternity, the least she could do was give him something that would prove she would never leave him either. That forever meant forever to her too.

During her pause to evaluate the situation, Edward had been studying her face for a hint at what she was thinking. Not being able to read her mind was a blessing in the peace she offered him, but at times like this, it was frustrating. Varying thoughts ran through his head as to what she might be thinking. Maybe she wanted the whole fairytale; the diamond ring, grand gestures, the whole kit and caboodle. It won't be typical Bella, but then again, neither was marriage. He shook his head in frustration at his actions. "I knew I should have done this right. You deserve me to be on one knee, a ring, romance and bird choruses. I mean I have the ring, I've had it since your 18th birthday..."

Bella laid a hand on his cheek and drew his eyes back to hers. "Yes, Edward, of course I will marry you."

It took a few seconds for the words to register, even in his vampiric brain. Edward grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close to him, nuzzling his nose into the crook of her neck, at the juncture with her collarbone. Before she could react he was twirling them around in a circle again. She threw back her head and let out a laugh in pure, unashamed happiness. It filled the silent forest. Her hair whipped around them as she placed her hands on his shoulders to steady her as they moved faster and faster, a small hole appearing in the ground around Edwards feet. If she had still been Isabella Swan she was sure she would be sick by now, with a few brain contusions as her brain rattled around her skull, but she wasn't, she was Bella Lee, soon to be Mrs. Bella Cullen, and instead she was free and lucky beyond comprehension. Eventually Edward slowed and placed her back on her feet, drawing her in for a searing kiss that left no doubt in her mind that this was right. Nothing had ever felt as right as marrying Edward Cullen.

"You do realize that we owe Alice big time. She managed to keep this under wraps for a week. A whole week. Poor Jasper."Edward said, amusement filling his voice and a certain spring in his step she had never seen before.

"She can plan the wedding, then. It's a chore for most people, but Alice isn't most people."

"I don't think she ever was, even when she was alive. Diet aside, being a vampire was probably made for Alice."

A squeal echoed from somewhere on the edge of the forest as Bella and Edward dissolved into laughter.

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**So what has Alice seen?**

**Though Tread Lightly was heavily reedited, i left the scene with Bella and Ben largely untouched. Good call?**

**Uberthanks to my new beta Tina32899 and to Katastrophe who is my constant support and bounce wall!  
**


	11. Til Death Do Us Part Ain't Cuttin' It

**Chapter 11 – 'Till Death Do You Part Ain't Cuttin' It!

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To say that life had been busy for the Cullens and Lee's recently would be an understatement of monumental proportions. The Volturi's visit had shaken the family to the core, Carlisle more so than the rest of them. He had always held them in such high regard, Aro especially, having spent several decades with them in his lifetime. The very fact that the Guard came at all is a testament to what vampire- kind has suspected, but ignored for far too long. Aro's betrayal had left Carlisle slightly adrift, not sure how to take the betrayal of his friend given the loyalty that vampires have with their kin.

He has retired to his study upon return to the house and since then had spent a lot of time with Esme, seeking privacy to process the events away from the prying eyes of their gifted family. Jasper had picked up on feelings of embarrassment and hurt, but Carlisle had refused Jasper's help in calming his thoughts. Esme hadn't been as guarded with her thoughts as Carlisle, letting Edward see how much he was hurting, doing nothing more than reassuring them that Carlisle didn't blame Bella or Sophia for what had happened in the clearing. She was confident that he would recover, given time. Slowly Carlisle had reentered family life and surrounded himself with being thankful that his family, Sophia especially, were still with them. He had a long talk with Bella a few weeks after Ben's funeral and Bella now had a new affinity with the man she would come to call father.

The phone calls had started coming in from other covens as rumours moved around over what had happened in the clearing. Most were simply curious to see if it was coup, or if the Cullen coven was taking over for the Volturi, given that the Guard were in tatters following the incident. Discontent and fractured loyalities had arisen as others asked questions about what other areas of the secretive Volturi Guard were against vampire laws. This was further fuelled by those already disgruntled with the Guard after they disposed the Romanian coven. Many felt it was from one dictatorship to another. Carlisle and Esme had asked for peace amongst the other covens until it became clearer what exactly was happening.

There had been no word out of Italy on Marcus's reprisal, or if indeed the Volturi were in residence again, having pulled the entire guard, wives and all, to the clearing. Demetri and Carlisle were going to visit Volterra soon to check on Aro, to try and convince him to break the Guard's bonds and let them decide for themselves if they wanted to stay, not because they were forced. Demetri was slowly becoming a friend to the Cullens, striking up a strong friendship with Jasper. Emmett had immediately clicked with Demetri with Bella, the butt of most of their jovial teasing. She marvelled at how alike they could be. Sophia was still understandably nervous around Demetri, and for that he generally visited when Sophia was away on hunting trips.

x-x-x-x

The move to St. Petersburg had gone as well as expected. Bella had refused to let the movers pack up her house, as they had done Esme's. Bella's overwhelming need to keep to herself and not let humans in for the most part kicked in again after the Volturi's visit, and Edward was slowly learning the ways of dealing with Bellla's mood swings. At first he had been fearful about leaving her just in case she worried that he wasn't coming back again, but that had lead to a heated 'discussion' about Bella feeling claustrophobic and that Edward needed to realise that it had been her and Sophia for so long that she needed some space and adjustment time. The heated discussion had lead to great make-up sex and an agreement to have more heated discussions.

Bella had the six-foot plywood boxes brought down from the attic with the packing crates for her artwork. Edward offered to help Sophia pack; tThe fact that Edward and the Cullens had not been around children, due to the obvious reasons, left him completely unprepared for the task he had gotten himself into. How does one six-year-old have so many things? Not even everything in Edward's old room at the main houser could contain anywhere near the amount of things one room of Sophia's had, and he had over one hundred twenty-five years on the little girl. If this was what a vampire child collected, what on earth did a human child need? Her wardrobe had, of course, grown with Alice's influence.

Edward had particularly enjoyed the time they spent together, especially when it came to packing up Sophia's photo albums. She had crawled into his lap and pulled them out one by one, explaining the photos and the memories attached to them. Sophia had been glad to have Edward's help at first, but as with all children, her mind wandered and she quickly got distracted. Mainly, Emmett was the source of her distraction. He had been banned from the main house after the movers had found his uber-secret porn collection. He and Sophia had shocked Bella senseless by hiding and jumping out of the boxes at randon intervals throughout the two days it took to pack everything. They still hadn't figured out how Emmett managed to get his bear-like stature into a six by three foot box, never mind having the grace to jump out of it with Sophia and not break it.

The house outside St. Petersburg was a testament to his mother's flair for design. The house was very similar to their others, but it still seemed at home in the snowy hills and evergreen forests that were going to be their home. The front of the house was again dominated by huge glass windows that were not floor to ceiling as they had been in the Forks and Burton houses. Instead they were frames in the outside of the house, surrounded by a grey, almost burnt silver rendering. The house had been redecorated, the smell of fresh paint an assault to the vampires sense of smell when they had first moved in. The walls were painted in dusky pinks, icy cornflower blues and a desert sand theme running throughout the house.

Esme had been inspired by propaganda posters from the 70's and that were making a comeback today as the Communist party tried to revolt against the new world government. Several of the posters were hanging around the house. Much of the furniture in the house in Burton was neutral, so it fit in very well. Emmett had insisted on having the reinforced bed he shared with Rose flown in ahead of time so that there would be no further telling offs from Esme, as there had been before when they had lived together.

Esme's preference for light and airy had been set aside in Bella and Edward's house for something that more reflected their tastes and something more durable to Sophia's antics. For the most part, Sophia was a well-behaved vampire, but Esme and Carlisle's house in Burton had already experienced a top-level Sophia temper tantrum, and the result was a major redecoration of her playroom that came with tempered glass to prevent the explanation of any chair throwing 'accidents' . The mismatched furniture, some from Bella's house, Edward's piano, and things that Esme had bought for them or brought out of storage, worked well in their four-bedroom oasis just one minute vampire run away from the main house.

Sophia's bedroom was painted in an Egyptian theme, as requested. When Esme had asked her if she wanted her jungle theme to go with us to Russia, she had replied that she wanted it to resemble the place she thought she could never really go. Sophia was well aware of her limitations as a vampire, but she was still a child in heart and mind. Esme and Bella had worked hard, helped by Rose, to create a room fit for the most precious of children. Her bed was a mock-up of Cleopatra's four poster bed that Sophia had spotted in an Egyptology textbook of Edward's. It was a slight variation on the real thing. Sophia instead had a four-poster cedar bed, draped in muslin down all four sides and muslin skirting. The head and foot boards were detailed in the outline of the scarab beetle with its wings outstretched and rimmed in an Egyptian key design and pillars. Scenes from the Valley of the Kings and other various Saharan temples were painted onto the walls with bullrush flooring. Sophia loved the room on sight.

Sophia had turned into much more than a blessing to Edward than he could have ever imagined. The main reason he had refused to turn Bella, aside from the issue of her soul, was that she would never have the chance to have children. Edward had seen what a bitter shrew it had turned Rosalie into; he didn't want that for Bella. He never wanted to limit her options, or for her to ever regret being with him and forsaking the chance to ever have children of her own. Now that he saw her with Sophia, he saw that he had made the right decision, in his mind. Bella, he was sure, could have lived without children but she would never been a complete Bella, like she is now. Bella acted like she had always been destined to be a mother despite her change into a vampire, Edward felt it deep within the soul that Bella had shown him he had.

Edward surprised himself with how well he had adapted to being a father. Having no experience with children, Bella had to teach Edward the rules. There had been many false starts when he had first moved in with Bella, but with help from both Esme and Bella, he was confident in helping Sophia to continue to develop, yet not afraid to keep her in line, which was proving more difficult than with a human child. There were many a times when Bella had come from the hospital to find them curled up on the couch, Edward running his fingers through her soft curls, not quite sleeping, for that wasn't possible, but simply resting and taking stock in the peace without the other Cullen's around. Bella called it 'Their Time'.

Now he couldn't imagine life without them both. Never again would Edward even entertain the idea of them going anywhere without him. Every time Edward thought of the day in the clearing, he was numbed into silence. Bella and Sophia had bound the family together, far beyond what they were previously. Even Rosalie and Edward are now able to just sit alone and talk, something that was unimaginable since he had left Bella all those years ago. He had recessed further into a black hole, and Rose had not helped with her smugness and '_I told you so_'s'. She had changed her mind as she got to know the new Bella and, of course, Sophia's presence alone had changed Rosalie's thinking forever.

Edward sat in the smaller house Esme had built for Edward, Bella, and Sophia, in his tuxedo, trying not to play with the white bow tie around his neck. He was feeling agitated; twelve hours away from marrying Bella had left his nerves on edge and constantly invading everyone's thoughts just to catch a glimpse of her. Emmett was waiting by the front door under strict orders, watching for Alice to give the signal so they could head outside to the gazebo and join the rest of the party. The gazebo where Bella will become Edward's wife. Alice and Esme had been caught up in a whirlwind of activity in the two weeks since they had moved, in the middle of the Russian winter. It had snowed that morning, as predicted, so they would be able to go ahead as planned, not that they had ever doubted Alice.

They had been putting the finishing touches to the arrangements, hanging flowers and fairy lights under Alice's strict orders. Bella had been banned from seeing the finished result, and Sophia had been sworn to secrecy, bribed with a trip into St. Petersburg as a reward if she kept things to herself. Edward couldn't wait to see the expression on Bella's face as she walked down the aisle towards him, only ever for him. Carlisle was already pacing around the living room, muttering the well learned vows under his breath. There was no need for Carlisle to keep practising due to his photographic memory, but Carlisle was human in every way but by condition. As the world had changed, people had reverted back to the beliefs of centuries past. Superstition and fear of all things occult meant that finding a minister willing to marry Edward and Bella had been impossible. They had, instead, decided to keep it in the family, so Carlisle had offered to be ordained online, not feeling completely at ease in a church given his past. Six hundred years later, he finally followed his father into the church, albeit in an unconventional way.

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Snowflakes fluttered lightly from the sky as the sun began its slow descent into the horizon. Dusk was fast approaching the small gathering in the clearing. Neither the snowflakes nor the cold could bother the four men and three women waiting under the flower and fairy light adorned gazebo.

Demetri had joined the wedding party, arriving just the day before and would be leaving the day after the wedding. The idea was to slowly ease him into the Cullen family's lives. Sophia was still uncomfortable around Demitri, mostly due to his prior association with Jane, and the fact that he had kidnapped her not two months prior. The rest of the Cullen's were still uneasy around Bella's oldest friends because of his involvement with the Volturi Guard. Long ties were hard to forgive, but harder to forget. His importance in Bella's life had swayed them to allow his visit. It was, after all, Bella's day also.

The scent of orange blossoms hung heavy in the air, their smell further enhanced by the sharpness to the wind that the cold snow brought with it. When Alice had shown her the flowers, she found it was a scent that was vaguely familiar to Bella, though where it came from, she could not recall. It reminded her of sunny days and happier times. When Bella told Alice of her thought, Alice gently explained that when they had known each other in Forks, Bella had mentioned it was a favourite flower of Renee's and that she had often had them in the house when they lived in Phoenix.

Emmett was busy trying to fulfil his best man duties by constantly checking for the rings, patting down his suit jacket from collar to hem feeling for the reassuring ridges of the silver coloured bands, and trying to distract an overly and unnecessarily anxious Edward. Edward, who hadn't seen Bella since the previous evening, was concerned at being parted from her for so long, and had been pacing every now and again around the cottage where they lived and had now transferred his restless energy to pacing around the gazebo where they now stood. Alice had to physically put her tiny hands on her brother's shoulders and get him to stand still for long enough. Carlisle had tried to utter a few calming words but his own nervousness was starting to show; very un-Carlisle like.

All eyes swivelled to look down the candle-lit aisle, a deep clearing throat drawing their attention. The wedding parties gaze watched as Sophia appeared at the top of the candle-lit aisle, a short, straight walkway lit by hundreds of tealights, flames imprisoned in hurricane lights to put the vampire attendees at ease. Nothing made a vampire more nervous than an unguarded flame. The candles threw dancing shadows across the snow and up onto the trees that surrounded the little area Emmett and Jasper had bulldozed the day before.

Sophia, in her long skirted tulle dress - resembling a longer skirted version of her beloved tutu - and white ballet shoes; the ribbons expertly tied up her calves, a small tiara perched daintily upon her head. The crystals, which Alice had promised weren't real diamonds, glinted in the candlelight, catching the candlelight and showering the snowflakes with beautiful spectrum rainbows. She hadn't wanted to be parted from Bella or Edward for the entire day to allow them to get ready and help the boys out with decorations. Alice had agreed to let her go back and forth between Bella and Edward, as long as a shield was in place around her and Edward had promised 'no funny mind-reading stuff'. Watching Sophia keep her dad in check had provided the family with a couple of hours of entertainment as she met him match for match in his sneakiness to get information from her.

Edward felt his no-longer-beating heart jump to his throat when he saw Jasper lead Bella to the start of the aisle, her arm hooked in his as he held her hand, palm to palm. Her eyes caught his as she looked up from Jasper's comforting pat of her hand, catching her feelings of nerves that came naturally with getting married. Catching her eyes, Edward saw that they mirrored his own. The love he was feeling, overwhelming, and the sight almost caused his heart to beat again. She was stunning; words were not enough to describe how he felt as his soon-to-be wife walked down the aisle on his brother's arm. He could see her trying to quell the need to run to him having not seen him all day and the preceding night. The closer she got towards him, the more the feeling of completeness came back to him, filling a void he was not aware of until he saw her again.

Bella resembled as vision as she stood merely feet from him but moving at a slow human pace. Questions had not been asked as to where Alice had acquired such a beautiful dress, but Bella had fallen in love with it instantly as she saw the completed designs on paper just days after they had announced the engagement. Then again, Alice always did have a head start. The cream silk dress was simple in design; sleeveless, with a v-shaped neckline that was hemmed intricately with silver beads that caught the light, like the snowflakes that fell from the skies. The white silk of the top half wrapped cross-ways, overlapping down her torso to her hips where the rest of the dress flared out straight to the floor, ending in a short train that seemed to float along behind her ending in a small pool of liquid silk at the front.. Bella wore simple white slippers to complete the ensemble, having defied Alice and her request from heels despite the reassurance that Alice could not see her stumbling. Her hair was pulled up into a simple chiffon with a few curls of her chestnut hair escaping and an intricate tiara in her hair at the crown of her head, matching the smaller one in Sophia's hair.

Jasper had worried initially, when Bella had asked him to give her away. He had asked her why she hadn't thought to ask Emmett, but she had brushed his worries aside, calling Jasper her brother too and then muttering at her inability to trust Emmett not to goof around. Jasper had tried to keep his distance at first, because he felt as if he were the cause of Edward and Bella's separation so many years ago, after her birthday. But, finally, after she and Jasper had talked about it many times since the Volturi had come to Burton they had reached an understanding, and she had accepted Jasper for everything he was, and was going to be. Jasper and Bella had formed a unique bond in the family since Bella had rejoined their lives, a different bond than that she had with Emmett or indeed with Carlisle. Nor was it a bond they shared with their respective partners, a bond not of love, but stronger than brother and sister.

When Bella had explained why she wanted him to give her away, Jasper had agreed in a heartbeat. They were both the newest of the newbies and that they both sometimes struggled with being part of an all accepting, all sharing family like the Cullen's. He led her straight up the aisle, at human speed, watching as Bella memorized every flicker of emotion that passed over Edward's face. As the reached the top of the aisle, Jasper kissed her cheek and placed her hand in Edward's as they faced Carlisle.

Carlisle cleared his throat and gazed down at his children, the last of them to find true happiness together. "It is one of life's richest surprises when the accidental meeting of two life paths lead them to proceed together along the common path as husband and wife. It is one of life's finest experiences when a relationship grows into a permanent bond of love, especially when life is eternal. This meeting and growth have brought us together today." He nodded in Edward's direction and smiled reassuringly at him, knowing how Edward had struggled so desperately when he felt forced to leave Bella, knowing there was nothing he could do or say to help his son.

Edward gripped Bella's hands tightly in his, as if to silently reassure her that he was still there but if she had changed her mind about marriage, and she wanted to run, he would run with her. "I am not as good with words as I am with music, but I would like to use someone else's words, who says all that I want to say so much better than I ever could; Dorothy R. Colgan.

"_I promise to give you the best of myself and to ask of you no more than you can give. I promise to accept you the way you are. I fell in love with you for the qualities, abilities, and outlook on life that you have, and won't try to reshape you in a different person. I promise to respect you as a person with your own interests, desires, and needs, and to realize that those are sometimes different, but no less important than my own. I promise to keep myself open to you, to let you see through the window of my personal world into my innermost fears and feelings, secrets and dreams. I promise to grow along with you, to be willing to face change as we both change in order to keep our relationship alive and exciting. And finally, I promise to love you in good times and in bad, with all I have to give and all I feel inside in the only way I know how... completely and forever_."

Bella could feel the venom pooling, stinging, at the back of her eyes and just for once, she wished that she could cry, to show him even an ounce of the love she felt at Edward's words. She took a moment to compose and calm herself enough to look into Edward's eyes. "I pledge to you to be a loving friend and partner in marriage. To talk and to listen, to trust and appreciate you; to respect and cherish your uniqueness; and to support, comfort and strengthen you through life's joys and sorrows. I promise to share hopes, thoughts and dreams as we build our lives together again. May our lives be forever intertwined, our love keeping us together. We will build a home that is compassionate to all, full of respect and honour for others and each other. May our home be forever filled with peace, happiness and love."

Theyturned back to Carlisle, who motioned to Emmett for the rings. After Emmett patted down every pocket on his tuxedo, he found the ring box in his upper pocket where Esme had placed them that morning and promised him pain of death should he move them. He handed them to Carlisle. "The circle is the symbol of the sun, earth, and universe. It is the symbol of peace, and is eternal, never beginning or ending. Let this ring be the symbol of unity and peace in which your two lives are joined in one unbroken circle. Wherever you go, return unto one another and to your togetherness." He passed the ring into Edward's out stretched hand.

Edward reached for Bella's hand and slid the white gold Celtic band onto her forth finger. "I give you this ring to wear upon your hand as a symbol of our unity in steadfast love."

Bella took the second ring from Carlisle and smiled in remembrance. Only she knew that his had been inscribed with '_Forever' _inside the band. "I give you this ring to wear upon your hand as a symbol of our unity in steadfast love."

They turned back to Carlisle who smiled proudly at the his two children, finally together, after so many years apart and so many trials. "You are mature people who have established individual lives over the years. Yet you have found not only a need for companionship, but also the satisfaction of that need in each other's company. It is this love, based upon a responsible understanding and communication, which will aid you in creating out of your two lives, a marriage and happiness that you will share together. Stand fast in hope and confidence, believing in yourself and believing in each other.

"I now declare you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Edward moved forward to his bride, slipping his hands to her face, cupping her pale cheeks.

"Forever," he whispered, soft enough only for her to hear before their lips met in the sweetest of kiss.

So we lie here in the dark  
All the wrong things on fire  
In sickness and in health  
To be with you, just to be with you

And you hold me in your arms  
And all that I can see  
Is my future in your hands  
And all that I can feel  
Is how long ever after is  
It's all that I can do  
To be with you, just to be with you

Thought I'd lost you  
Thought I'd lost you  
I gave you away  
Thought I'd lost you  
I'm jealous of the moon  
For how it moves the waves

_Matt Nathanson – Wedding Dress_

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**Well thats all folks. 10,000 additional words and a whole heap of tears later, TLITL and TL have come to an end (though TLITL will be reedited too at some point soon - i need recovery time from TL). Look out for my new fics Seeking Harmony (a collab with Katastrophe) and Perfect Timing which will posting in the very near furture.**

**Thanks to my beta's Katastrophe and Tine32899 (who's fic 'A Pretend Wedding' is awesomeness)**

**Can you tell my A/Ns are unbetaed! :o)  
**


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